PRIME MINISTER

Ministerial Visits

Norman Baker: To ask the Prime Minister if he will ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer to visit Lewes constituency.

Tony Blair: This is a matter for my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Asbestos-related Cancer

Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what recent assessment he has made of the death rate attributable to asbestos-related cancer in Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Goggins: The number of asbestos-related cancers cannot be assessed directly, since asbestos-related lung cancers are clinically indistinguishable from other lung cancers. However figures are available on the cancer mesothelioma, which is almost always caused by asbestos exposure.
	In 2004, the last year for which validated figures are available, 51 deaths were registered in Northern Ireland where the underlying cause was recorded as mesothelioma. This represents a death rate of 3.0 per 100,000 population.

Education Provision

Jim Dobbin: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans he has to improve education provision and support for looked-after children and vulnerable adults in Northern Ireland.

Maria Eagle: I refer my hon. Friend to the answerI gave earlier.

Power-sharing Initiatives

Andrew Robathan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment he has made of the likely effectiveness of continuing to pay salaries and expenses as an inducement to encourage members of the Northern Ireland Assembly to rejoin power-sharing initiatives.

David Hanson: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave earlier.

Provisional IRA

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what steps the Government are taking to encourage the Provisional IRA to disband.

David Hanson: The Independent Monitoring Commission 10th report published on 26 April, states that "PIRA has taken a strategic decision to follow a political path" and that it does not in its view "present a terrorist threat". This is consistent with the chief constable's assessment.

Decommissioning

David Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the decommissioning of arms and explosives held by paramilitaries.

Paul Goggins: The IICD has stated that it will submit a full report on armaments when its mandate is complete.

Decommissioning

William McCrea: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many and what types of weapons were decommissioned by the Provisional IRA in the recent act of decommissioning.

Paul Goggins: On 26 September 2005 the Independent International Commission on Decommissioning
	"determined that the IRA had met its commitment to put all its arms beyond use in a manner called for by the legislation."
	The Government expect a full report on armaments to be published when the IICD have fully concluded their work.

Antisocial Behaviour Strategy

Gordon Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what co-operation there is between local authorities, the Police Service of Northern Ireland and housing authorities in respect of implementing an antisocial behaviour strategy in Northern Ireland.

David Hanson: Tackling antisocial behaviour is part of the broader community safety strategy for Northern Ireland. The Police Service of Northern Ireland, local councils and the Northern Ireland Housing Executive work together on all 26 Community Safety Partnerships to deal with the community safety matters, including antisocial behaviour, which have been identified as priorities in their local community safety strategies and action plans.

Arts Council

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much has been allocated to the Arts Council of Northern Ireland in each year since 1997; and how much this represents per head of population in Northern Ireland.

Maria Eagle: Funds allocated to the Arts Council from DCAL since the Department came into existence in 1999 are shown in the tables below. Figures for earlier years are not readily available.
	
		
			  Government grants to the Arts Council of Northern Ireland since 1999 
			   £ 
			 1999-2000 7,249,090 
			 2000-01 6,956,000 
			 2001-02 8,053,000 
			 2002-03 7,960,000 
			 2003-04 10,974,000 
			 2004-05 11,949,223 
			 2005-06 10,832,074 
		
	
	
		
			  Per capita expenditure since 1999 
			   £ 
			 1999-2000 4.31 
			 2000-01 4.13 
			 2001-02 4.76 
			 2002-03 4.69 
			 2003-04 6.44 
			 2004-05 6.98 
			 2005-06 6.33

Arts Council

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how long each member of the Arts Council of Northern Ireland has been in post.

Maria Eagle: The information you have requested is as follows:
	
		
			  Membership of the Arts Council 
			   Currently in post 
			  Date of appointment/member  Years  Months 
			  1 July 2003   
			 Mrs. Rosemary Kelly (Chair) 2 9 
			 Mr. Martin Bradley (Vice-Chair) 2 9 
			 Mrs. Eithne Benson 2 9 
			 Mrs. Kathleen Bond 2 9 
			 Mr. Will Chamberlain(1) 1 11 
			 Ms Lucia (Lucy) Finnegan 2 9 
			
			  1 February 2005   
			 Mr. Raymond Fullerton 1 3 
			
			  1 July 2003   
			 Ms Jill Amanda Holmes 2 9 
			 Mr. Anthony Kennedy 2 9 
			 Mr. Tim Kerr 2 9 
			 Mr. Adrian McDowell(2) ? 8 
			 (1) Resigned June 2005. (2) Resigned March 2004.

Classroom Assistants

Sammy Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when the evaluation of classroom assistants' jobs in Northern Ireland commenced; and if he will make a statement on the evaluation.

Maria Eagle: Classroom assistants are part of the Education and Library Boards' overall Job Evaluation exercise that commenced in 1995. Since that time, Boards have been conducting a range of job evaluations for some 25,000 staff in total. It was acknowledged at the start that this would be a complex exercise that would take a considerable amount of time. It was therefore agreed that the effective date of any re-grading would be 1 January 1995 so that no member of staff would be disadvantaged by having to wait for the evaluation of their post.
	Classroom assistants are the last major group of staff (some 7,000) for which Job Evaluation agreement remains outstanding and I am told that negotiations between the Education and Library Boards and the trade union side on the job evaluation process for classroom assistants are at an advanced stage. A total of £25.7 million has already been made available to cover costs resulting from the evaluation exercise. My Department has made clear to the Boards, as employers, the importance of reaching a speedy settlement that is affordable within those sizeable resources already provided and awaits further details from them as to how this objective will be delivered.

Credit Card Fraud

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what estimate he has made of the change in credit card fraud in Northern Ireland since the introduction of the Chip and PIN technology.

Paul Goggins: Chip and PIN has had a phased introduction into Northern Ireland, with some outlets offering the facility prior to 14 February. After that date, the use of PIN became mandatory with some exceptions, including cases where cardholders had not received upgraded cards or where outlets had not yet introduced the appropriate technology. It is therefore early to make a sound estimate of the impact of Chip and PIN.
	The PSNI have provided the figures which are an estimate of criminal benefit obtained as a result of credit card fraud, from 2002 to date in the table. These figures are based on incidents reported to the PSNI for investigation; however it is accepted that the true figure could be significantly higher, as many incidents are reported directly to financial institutions that in turn may not make a report to police.
	
		
			   Investigation files  Criminal Benefit 
			 2002 626 1,279,286 
			 2003 597 330,774 
			 2004 551 281,512 
			 2005 646 449,100 
			 2006 to date 321 159,763 
		
	
	There are many types of 'plastic card fraud' and while early indications suggest that chip and PIN has made an impact on 'Card Present Fraud' where a PIN is required, there could be a migration to other forms of card fraud such as CNP (Card Not Present). An example of CNP fraud is internet, mail order type transactions where a PIN is not required.
	In 2005, 'Plastic losses' (including ATM fraud such as skimming, account/identity takeover, fraudulent application fraud and compromised card use) amounted to approximately £532,000; the level of cheque crime for 2005 was estimated to be £4,128,000.

Departmental Staff

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many staff in  (a) each Northern Ireland Department and  (b) the Northern Ireland Office, have had (i) five or more, (ii) four, (iii) three and (iv) two periods of sick leave of less than five days in each of the last three years.

David Hanson: The following tables set out the number of staff who have  (a) five or more,  (b) four,  (c) three and  (d) two periods of sick absence of less than give days in each of the past three years.
	
		
			  Number of staff with periods of sick leave of less than five days by Department: 2004-05 
			  Department  Five or more occasions  Four occasions  Three occasions  Two occasions 
			 DARD 23 49 111 418 
			 DCAL 7 9 37 67 
			 DE 7 12 30 120 
			 DETI 4 13 38 133 
			 DFP 26 45 138 405 
			 DEL 10 20 51 199 
			 DHSSPS 15 18 50 142 
			 DOE 24 54 103 315 
			 DRD 13 23 98 422 
			 DSD 52 97 347 1,166 
			 OFMDFM 3 7 24 64 
			 NIO 9 29 88 192 
		
	
	
		
			  Number of staff with periods of sick leave of Less than five days by Department 2003-04 
			  Department  Five or more occasions  Four occasions  Three occasions  Two occasions 
			 DARD 64 65 212 528 
			 DCAL 11 15 51 77 
			 DE 7 20 46 90 
			 DETI 6 18 69 142 
			 DFP 48 61 191 467 
			 DEL 21 28 101 281 
			 DHSSPS 29 31 76 173 
			 DOE 39 63 185 402 
			 DRD 66 94 249 657 
			 DSD 71 160 544 1,382 
			 OFMDFM 9 12 33 70 
			 NIO 11 22 76 199 
		
	
	
		
			  Number of staff with periods of sick leave of less than five days by department: 2002-03 
			  Department  Five or more occasions  Four occasions  Three occasions  Two occasions 
			 DARD 79 87 207 457 
			 DCAL 15 17 41 75 
			 DE 5 20 40 97 
			 DETI 15 34 74 134 
			 DFP 62 87 245 457 
			 DEL 44 49 138 304 
			 DHSSPS 39 38 92 166 
			 DOE 31 78 189 364 
			 DRD 77 111 316 756 
			 DSD 96 156 603 1,440 
			 OFMDFM 6 15 29 55 
			 NIO 10 21 75 166

Diversiton Multi-faith Calendar

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much was donated to the diversiton multi-faith calendar 2006 by the  (a) Northern Ireland Office and  (b) Police Service of Northern Ireland.

Peter Hain: As sponsors of the 2006 multi-faith calendar  (a) Northern Ireland Office purchased 500 calendars at a cost of £2,375 and  (b) the Police Service of Northern Ireland purchased 250 calendars at a cost of £1,500. The calendars were widely distributed throughout each organisation as part of ongoing work to improve understanding of diversity.

Eid-ul-Adha Reception

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the total travelling and subsistence costs were associated with the attendance by civil servants from the Northern Ireland Office and Northern Ireland departments at the recent Eid-ul-Adha reception in London hosted by the Civil Service Islamic Society.

Peter Hain: The total travelling and subsistence costs for three Northern Ireland Office officials to attend the Reception were £338.

IRA Army Council

William McCrea: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland who he has identified as the members of the Army Council of the Provisional IRA.

Paul Goggins: The hon. Gentleman will be aware that it is the long-standing policy of the Government not to comment on matters of intelligence or individual cases.

National Stadium

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what work has been carried out by each of the responsible Northern Ireland Departments in respect of preparing an estimate of the costs of building a new national stadium.

David Hanson: An economic appraisal has been carried out by independent consultants on behalf of the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure (DCAL) and the Strategic Investment Board (SIB) on the costs of building a multi-sports stadium in Northern Ireland and was completed in September 2005. This estimated the costs of building a new 42,000 seater stadium to be c.£88 million in April 2005 prices.

Raymond McCord

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when he expects to receive the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland's report on her investigation into the 1997 murder of Raymond McCord Jr.

Paul Goggins: The Police Ombudsman has advised that at report of the investigation into matters related to the murder of Raymond McCord Jr. is nearing completion. The Police Ombudsman's investigation is as a result of a complaint from Raymond McCord Sr. about the handling of the police investigation of his son's murder, not about the murder itself.

South Eastern Music Centre

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much funding was made available by the Department for Education to the South Eastern Music Centre in each of the past five years for which figures are available; and what plans he has to increase funding.

Maria Eagle: The music service is funded from within the South Eastern Education and Library-Board's (SEELB) Curriculum Advisory and Support Service (CASS) budget. It is therefore a matter for the SEELB to decide how to distribute their overall funding across the services that they provide.
	The budget allocated to the music service by the SEELB in each of the last five years was as follows:
	
		
			   Amount (£) 
			 2001-02 942,000 
			 2002-03 856,000 
			 2003-04 800,000 
			 2004-05 790,000 
			 2005-06 600,000

Special Advisers

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much has been paid in  (a) salary,  (b) travelling expenses,  (c) subsistence allowance and  (d) removal expenses to special advisers in the Northern Ireland Office in each of the last five years.

Paul Goggins: The information requested is as follows.
	 (a) Since 2003, the Government have published on an annual basis the names and overall cost of special advisers and the number in each pay band. For information relating to the last financial year I refer the hon. Member to the written ministerial statement made by my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister, on 21 July 2005,  Official Report, columns 158-61WS.
	Information on special advisers for this financial year is currently being collected and will be published in the normal way when it is ready.
	 (b) in 2005-06 travel costs for special advisers totalled £42,536.18.
	 (c) in 2005-06 subsistence costs for special advisers totalled £1,641.23.
	 (d) in 2005-06 there was no expenditure on removal expenses.
	All official travel by special advisers is undertaken in accordance with the requirements of the Ministerial Code and the Civil Service Management Code.
	Information on prior years could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

University of Ulster

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many non-EU students have been enrolled at each University of Ulster campus in each of the last three years.

Maria Eagle: The information requested is as follows.
	
		
			  Non-EU domiciled enrolments at the University of Ulster by campus 2002-03 to 2004-05 
			  Academic year  University of Ulster Campus 
			   Belfast  Coleraine  Jordanstown  Magee  Total 
			 2002-03 9 256 289 44 598 
			 2003-04 10 269 300 38 617 
			 2004-05 6 229 250 58 543 
			  Source:  Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) 
		
	
	HESA data relating to the 2005-06 academic year are not available at this time.

Unpaid Fines (Imprisonment)

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people spent time in prison for unpaid  (a) fines and  (b) other forms of fixed penalty in Northern Ireland during 2005.

Paul Goggins: In 2005, there were 1,814 prison receptions for fine default in Northern Ireland. The number of individuals received into prison for fine default was 1,599. The majority served only one period in custody for fine default; 175 individuals served multiple periods in custody (one up to seven periods).
	Of the 1,599 individuals received into prison for fine default, 16 related to failure to pay fixed penalties; each served one period in custody.

EDUCATION AND SKILLS

Alternative Education

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what policy he has for alternative education for the socially excluded; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: Every person of compulsory school age has a right to education. For those who cannot be educated in mainstream schools for whatever reason, local authorities have a duty to make arrangements for these children to receive suitable alternative education. Where alternative education is provided, local authorities must ensure the appropriateness of the education taking account of the learners' age, ability, and aptitude and to any other educational needs they may have.

Accommodation

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what discounts are available in relation to hotel accommodation used by  (a) civil servants and  (b) special advisers in his Department.

Parmjit Dhanda: The Department uses a formal contract with a hotel booking agent to book rooms required for overnight stays on official business. On average the Department receives 8 per cent. discount on room bookings and is charged a management fee by the Agent for the administration of the contract.

PE Teachers

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many sports and physical education teachers have been employed in schools in England in each year since 1997.

Jim Knight: Information on subject teaching is collected in periodic staffing surveys. Estimates from the two most recent surveys show that number of full-time teachers in maintained secondary schools teaching physical education, to year groups 7 to 13, was 20,000 in 1996 and 21,400 in 2002.

School Sports

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much his Department has spent on school sports facilities in each year since 1994.

Jim Knight: Central records on capital expenditure are held from 1996-97. Information on capital expenditure on school sports facilities is not held centrally, as decisions on how resources should be invested in schools, including sports facilities, are taken by each local authority and its schools in accordance with their priorities and locally prepared asset management plans.
	The following table sets out the total capital resources allocated to local authorities and schools since 1996-97.
	
		
			   £ billion 
			 1996-97 0.5 
			 1997-98 0.6 
			 1998-99 1.3 
			 1999-2000 1.6 
			 2000-01 2.5 
			 2001-02 2.5 
			 2002-03 3.3 
			 2003-04 4.2 
			 2004-05 4.9 
			 2005-06 5.5 
			 2006-07 5.8 
		
	
	Capital allocations to local authorities and schools are higher than ever before, and are planned to rise to £6.3 billion in 2007-08.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Asian Tsunami

Stephen Hesford: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what estimate he has made of the total amount of  (a) relief and  (b) development overseas aid Sri Lanka has received since the tsunami in December 2004.

Gareth Thomas: The total cost of tsunami rehabilitation and recovery in Sri Lanka has been estimated at£1.3 billion. Support in excess of £1.7 billion has been pledged, plus a further £800 million from non-governmental organisations. The Government of Sri Lanka's Development Assistance Database records most major recovery programmes and shows that to date approximately £650 million has been disbursed on 686 projects and programmes. There will also be a range of programmes, particularly in the NGO sector, which are not recorded on the database. Within these figures, DFID has committed £19.8 million for tsunami relief of which some £18.8 million has been disbursed. In addition we have pledged some £41 million for debt relief, of which approximately £4 million has been spent.
	At present, the database does not record non-tsunami expenditure and there is no consolidated and up to date record of all donor flows. The latest figures available are for 2003, during which Sri Lanka received approximately £395 million in Official Development Assistance. The UK contributed £7.2 million of this amount.

Burma

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps he  (a) is taking and  (b) plans to take to assist the internally displaced Karen, Karenni and Shan people in eastern Burma.

Gareth Thomas: DFID provides direct support to the internally displaced Karen, Karenni and Shan people in eastern Burma through the International Committee of the Red Cross, to which we provide £500,000 a year, of which approximately 75 per cent. is attributable to work with displaced people in this area. These funds are able to reach internally displaced people in areas where fighting is actually occurring.
	In addition, our health, education and rural livelihood projects provide assistance in eastern Burma, and support internally displaced people who have resettled there, as well as other vulnerable people. For example, in Karen State, our fund for HIV/AIDS in Myanmar enables World Vision to deliver projects in two townships, Save the Children UK in four townships and Care in five townships, as well as funding other national NGOs. DFID-funded projects supporting the development of rural livelihoods, and pre-primary education are both about to start in Karen State.
	In response to the growing numbers of internally displaced people in eastern Burma, we are providing finance which enables the provision of emergency support through local community groups. We will continue to monitor the situation closely and assess whether we need to supplement those funds.

Consultants

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will list the companies which were paid consultancy fees by his Department in 2005-06; how much each was paid; and what each of the companies was used to accomplish.

Hilary Benn: I have arranged for copies of the document entitled 'Paid Consultant Fees: 1 April 2005 to 31 March 2006' which gives details of the companies and the fees paid to them by the Department for International Development (DFID), to be placed in the Libraries of the House. The terms of reference are specific to each contract and are generally part of a larger project which has been agreed by overseas partners. The contract titles on the report reflect the type of activity carried out. The report does not include low value contracts issued by DFID's overseas offices, of which there are no consolidated central records. It would require disproportionate cost to produce a list of these contracts.

Democratic Republic of Congo

Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will make a statement on the work his Department is undertaking in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Hilary Benn: DFID has a rapidly increasing programme of development assistance in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). In 2001-02 the UK had a £7 million programme of humanitarian aid. In 2005-06, the UK spent approximately £57 million on a package of emergency humanitarian aid and longer term development activity. We have £63 million available this financial year. Since October 2005, DFID has had a fully devolved office of 33 staff in the DRC (11 UK based and 22 staff appointed in country). The UK is committed to supporting poverty reduction and sustainable development in the DRC in the long-term.
	Our current programme in the DRC is divided into four themes that reflect the transition context in the country—the first democratic elections for 40 years are due to be held this summer. As the DRC moves out of transition, the nature of our engagement will evolve accordingly. Where possible, we work in a collaborative or harmonised way with other partners and, as far as we can, in support of the Government's processes and systems.
	We are in the process of developing a full Country Assistance Plan for the DRC—which will be completed over the course of 2006, after discussion with the new Government. We will do this as much as possible in conjunction with other donors.
	Our current transition programme follows the following themes:
	 Security and the Rule of Law
	Support for the disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration of ex-combatants through the Multi-Country Demobilisation and Re-integration Programme (MDRP), support to army integration, reform of the police and justice sector, and local level peace building and dialogue initiatives through non-governmental organisations (NGOs).
	 Functioning State
	This includes support for the transition institutions (such as the Parliament, Electoral Commission and High Media Authority), the establishment of a professional and impartial media sector, and preparation for elections. The UK is the largest bilateral donor to the electoral process in the DRC.
	 Reconstruction
	Support for infrastructure within the Government's reconstruction plan, especially transport links; the development of a poverty reduction strategy (PRSP); support to the social sectors (health, education and water) largely through NGQs; and the fight against HIV/AIDS through UNAIDS and NGOs.
	 Natural Resources and Enhanced Revenue Generation
	We have funded research by Global Witness into the current state of natural resources management in the DRC. We are supporting the implementation of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) in the DRC and developing our plans for further support for effective and transparent natural resource extraction and the re-establishment of border control systems.
	 Humanitarian
	Around half of our programme is spent on humanitarian interventions either through UN agencies or NGOs, to address the complex and chronic humanitarian emergency that has faced the people of the DRC since the war. Our funding is principally channelled to the UN's Action Plan for the DRC through its pooled donor funding mechanism.

Democratic Republic of Congo

Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what plans he has to visit the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Hilary Benn: I hope to visit the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the autumn; once the elections have finished and the new government is installed.

Departmental Credit Cards

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what facility is available for senior civil servants in his Department to use credit cards supplied by the Department.

Gareth Thomas: The Department for International Development (DFID) operates a Mastercard system supplied by the NatWest bank, under an arrangement set up by the Welsh Procurement Initiative. The card is used for low-value, high-volume purchases by senior civil servants as required. It has both individual and overall spending limits, and usage is closely monitored to ensure compliance with Government accounting rules.

Genetic Resources

Joan Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development 
	(1)  what assistance his Department has provided to enable countries to consider different forms of sui generis systems for plant varieties; and what studies his Department has carried out to assess the impact of Trade-Related Intellectual Property Rights on the availability of seeds for farmers and researchers in developing countries;
	(2)  what studies his Department has carried out to assess the effectiveness of different forms of sui generis systems for plant varieties for allowing continuing access by farmers and researchers to seeds;
	(3)  what assistance his Department has provided to developing countries to develop a definition of 'micro-organisms' to enable free access to genetic resources consistent with Trade-Related Intellectual Property Rights; and what studies his Department has carried out to assist the development of such a definition;
	(4)  what measures his Department has taken to support developing countries to restrict the application of patents to plant and animal genetic resources in ways which are consistent with Trade-Related Property Intellectual Rights;
	(5)  what assistance his Department has provided for the purpose of ensuring that patent protection legislation in developing countries includes specific exemptions for plant breeding and research and the harvested seed intended for re-sowing by the producing farmer; and what studies his Department has carried out to assist the development of such legislation;
	(6)  what his Department's policy is on preserving the rights of countries not to grant patents for plants and animals, includes genes and genetically modified plants and animals, in order to protect varieties for research and breeding, to provide for the rights of farmers to save and plant-back seed and to allow informal sale and exchange of seeds.

Gareth Thomas: The UK Government believe that the question of patenting of plants and animals should be carefully considered by developing countries. The UK Government also strongly believe that the flexibilities contained in the Trade Related aspects of Intellectual Property Rights agreement, Article 27.3(b), are important and should be used. The TRIPs agreement indeed allows the World Trade Organisation members to exclude plant varieties from patentability. However, the WTO members are required to provide for plant varieties protection either by patents or by an effective sui generis system or by any combination thereof. The TRIPS agreement also makes clear that WTO members have to provide patents for inventions involving microbiological and non-biological processes, which would include genetic modification technology.
	The UK Government agree that sui generis systems for protecting plant varieties may be a more suitable option for many developing countries.
	There are a certain number of issues to consider when restricting the application of patenting in agricultural biotechnology. The interpretation of the TRIPS provisions is one of them, as there is no agreed international legal definition of "micro-organism". We believe that it is legitimate for the WTO member states to make a reasonable definition of "micro-organism" for themselves. The UK Government are also of the view that developing countries could consider in sui generis systems the use of exceptions to exclusive rights for research and plant breeding purpose, as well as to enable farmers to save and plant back seed, including the possibility of informal exchange and sale.
	The UK Government are supporting the rapid implementation of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture which came into force in 2004. The ITPGRFA has the objective to facilitate access to genetic resources, and recognises the contribution of farmers in conserving, improving and making these resources available. It also covers the question of farmer's rights. DFID supported the International Plant Genetic Research Institute in advising the FAO on development of the ITPGRFA.
	DFID has funded analytical work that takes these issues into consideration. DFID provided support to the Secretariat of the independent UK Commission on Intellectual Property Rights, which reported in September 2002 and provided a breakthrough analysis of the implications of intellectual property protection for development. DFID has since provided funding for a UNCTAD—International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development joint project on intellectual property in Geneva, as well as work carried out by the Quaker United Nations Office in Geneva. These projects have produced highly valued analytical papers, technical dialogues and research cooperation projects with regional institutions, covering agricultural and plant variety patent protection.
	DFID has not provided any direct technical assistance or capacity building support to developing countries to help them define restrictions to the application of patenting in agricultural biotechnology in a manner consistent with the TRIPS Agreement. DFID's development assistance is recipient driven, and countries are defining their own development priorities. Should interested developing countries formulate future requests for assistance in these issues, DFID will consider how to answer such needs. Specialised international and national intellectual property agencies or offices are technically better placed to provide such assistance and the UK Patent Office has provided training and assistance to developing countries and less developed countries when requested.

State Failures

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of the extent of state failure in  (a) Sudan, (b) Democratic Republic of the Congo,  (c) Cote d'Ivoire,  (d) Zimbabwe,  (e) Chad,  (f) Somalia,  (g) Haiti,  (h) Pakistan, (i) Guinea and (j) Liberia; and what steps are being taken by his Department to reduce the incidence of state failure.

Hilary Benn: There is no international agreement on what constitutes state fragility: the World Bank's Country Policy and Institutional Assessments (CPIA) can be used to measure fragility. The CPIA measures countries performance and divides low-income countries into five categories. There is one "unranked" group of countries not scored in any given year. The lowest two categories plus the unranked group are used by DFID and other donors as a list of fragile countries. Of the countries listed, all except Pakistan fall into this proxy list.
	Poverty is widespread and particularly severe in fragile states. Aid that has been given has often been volatile, fragmented and poorly co-ordinated. The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) cannot be achieved without more progress in fragile states.
	Following the publication of our policy paper 'Why we need to work more effectively in fragile states' in January last year, DFID has made a commitment to increase engagement in fragile states. We have, with our partners, been developing more appropriate ways of working together to improve the way the international system organises itself to respond and deliver aid. DFID has led work in the OECD's Development Assistance Committee including on agreeing 'Principles for good international engagement in fragile states'. These were endorsed in 2005 and are currently being piloted in nine countries. DFID is leading three of the nine pilots.
	Copies of the 2005 policy paper are available in the Library of the House.
	Our engagement in the fragile states listed is as follows:
	 Sudan
	The UK share of EC and multilateral assistance was £9 million in 2004. Total DFID Bilateral Aid in 2004-05 was £84 million (of which £77.7 million was humanitarian assistance). The Comprehensive Peace Agreement to the North- South conflict and the recently signed 'Darfur Peace Agreement' offer the people of Sudan genuine opportunities for political representation and security. DFID will spend £109.8 million in 2006-07 helping to meet the humanitarian, developmental and conflict resolution needs inSudan, split roughly humanitarian: £67 millionand development/conflict resolution: £42 million. Furthermore, we are working closely with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to support the Abuja peace process and the African Union peacekeepers in Darfur.
	 Democratic Republic of Congo
	The UK share of EC and multilateral assistance was £31.3 million in 2004. In the last five years, DFID bilateral assistance to the DRC has risen rapidly, from £5.6 million in 2001-2 to £29.2 million (of which £22.2 million was humanitarian assistance) in 2004-05. A fully devolved DFID programme was established in the country in late 2005. Expenditure of £132 million is planned over the next two years. The increase in DFID's assistance reflects the UK's determination to support the people and the Government of the DRC to complete successfully the transition process, including the elections, and find a sustainable path to peace, prosperity and poverty reduction.
	 Cote d'Ivoire
	DFID has no bilateral development programme with Cote d'Ivoire, but since the start of hostilities in 2002 we have provided £900,000 in humanitarian assistance including displaced people and refugees of many nationalities. We are working closely with the international community to help bring about a swift and peaceful resolution. Our share of EC and multilateral assistance totalled about £13.2 millionin 2004.
	 Zimbabwe
	Since the crisis in Zimbabwe began in 2000 until 2004-05 (most recently published figures), DFID Zimbabwe has provided £117.1 million to support poor people in Zimbabwe through our bilateral programme. Our share of EC and multilateral assistance was£5.6 million in 2004. DFID has focused on humanitarian assistance, tackling HIV and AIDS and providing support to orphans and vulnerable children. DFID channels resources through the UN agencies and civil society: none of our funding goes through the Government of Zimbabwe. We work closely with other donors and international organisations in identifying and responding to the immediate needs of Zimbabwe's poorest people.
	 Chad
	There is no bilateral development programme, but humanitarian assistance was £2 million in 2004-05. Our share of EC and multilateral assistance totalled£7.6 million in 2004. DFID continually monitors the humanitarian situation and undertakes periodic assessments in the east of the country. Humanitarian funding totalling £4.million is planned this year.
	 Somalia
	The UK share of EC and multilateral assistance was £4.2 million in 2004. DFID's programme has increased from £1.7 million in 2001-02 to £5.3 million in 2004-05 (of which £3.5 million was spent on humanitarian activities) and is set to reach £21 million in the financial year 2007-08. The majority of last year's spend was focused on emergency humanitarian activities due to the drought in early 2006. We work with a range of Somali partners, UN system and NGOS. The overall goal of the programme is a peaceful, politically stable, and economically viable Somalia.
	 Haiti.
	DFID assists Haiti through multilateral contributions to the amount of £15.3 million over the period 1999-2004 through the UK imputed share to the European Commission, United Nations, World Bank and others. We made bilateral contributions to humanitarian needs in 2004-05 of £1.9 million. We are hoping to put a DFID placement in the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) in Port au Prince to assist in donor harmonisation/aid effectiveness and humanitarian assessments.
	 Guinea
	DFID has no bilateral development programme with Guinea, but our share of EC and multilateral assistance totalled £6.4 million in 2004. DFID undertakes regular assessments of humanitarian need and has provided assistance totalling £2.3 million over the period 2000-01 to 2004-05. Last year's programme (figures not yet available) included assisting people affected by conflict, and supporting an emergency immunisation programme. We are also planning support for conflict prevention activities to help minimise the risks of political transition.
	 Liberia
	DFID is working closely with the new government of Liberia to strengthen its capacity, particularly in anti-corruption and civil service reform. DFID has provided over £17.4 million of bilateral aid from 2002-03 — 2004-05 (including £12.5 million humanitarian assistance), and is also supporting the resettlement of refugees and reintegration of ex-combatants (£3 million this year). The UK share of EC and multilateral support was£3.5 million in 2004.
	DFID also has a significant engagement in:
	 Pakistan
	Which we would not class as a fragile state, where we spent £31.4 million in 2004-05. UK share of EC and multilateral assistance was £18.9 million in 2004. Last year DFID's bilateral expenditure increased considerably and £236 million expenditure is planned over the next three years. In addition to all this, last year's earthquake relief is being followed up with£70 million towards reconstruction over the next 3 to 5 years. DFID works closely with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in country to alleviate the causes of state fragility.

Traditional Knowledge

Alan Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development 
	(1)  what research his Department has carried out to assess what systems are best for protecting traditional knowledge;
	(2)  what steps he has taken to ensure that the holders of traditional knowledge from developing countries are protected when patent applications are made;
	(3)  what studies his Department has carried out to assess the effectiveness of the Food and Agriculture Organisation Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources, in countries where it has been ratified, in  (a) protecting traditional knowledge,  (b) ensuring the equitable sharing of benefits from utilisation of genetic resources,  (c) securing the right to be consulted about the sustainable use and conservation of genetic resources and  (d) protecting other rights of farmers;
	(4)  what fora  (a) he and  (b) his officials participate in to consider the protection of traditional knowledge.

Gareth Thomas: DFID recognises the importance of traditional knowledge to communities, and especially poor farmers, in developing countries and to ensure their rights to, and benefits from this knowledge are protected. DFID has taken a number of steps to help achieve this.
	In relation to DFID funded research, all our contracts specify that the retention of intellectual property rights (IPR) should be freely available for non-commercial use by any organisation or individual. This ensures DFID research outputs cannot be captured in patents, and that traditional knowledge is protected.
	DFID has directly commissioned work on traditional knowledge. This included a survey on IPR and sustainable human development in 2000. This review investigated the suitability of IPR regimes for protecting traditional knowledge and concluded that patents are generally unsuitable, but that other IPR regimes required further investigation.
	In 2003, DFID produced a briefing on TRIPS (the Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights Agreement) and development. This investigated how IPR regimes could take greater account of developing country interests, and raised the concern that TRIPS does not cover traditional knowledge. We are working with the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) on this. This issue was again recognised by the Commission for Africa which my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for International Development was a member. The Commission's Report stated that developed countries should increase technical support to Africa for the extension of IPR to indigenous innovation and knowledge.
	We also support the Centres of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research to conduct work on traditional knowledge and genetic resources. For example, the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) is conducting ethnobotanical research to identify where and how genetic diversity in crops is found and valued. The International Plant Genetic Research Institute (IPGRI) has developed an Indigenous Knowledge Journal to help empower knowledge holders. Under this farmers document their knowledge on a topic on audio tape, or any media, in their own language which can then be listed in scientific journals.
	At the national level DFID has supported a range of initiatives on traditional knowledge. For example, in Indonesia we are supporting local NGOs in partnership with the Government to explore opportunities for supporting traditional forest management systems where communities directly benefit from their traditional knowledge.
	We supported the IPGRI in advising the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) on development of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. DFID has not yet carried out any studies to assess the effectiveness of the Treaty as it only recently came into force in June 2004.
	Alongside the Treaty the Global Crop Diversity Trust was established and this will set up gene banks to preserve existing plant material. The issue of the diversity in animal genetic resources is under discussion including the possibility of a new Treaty. DFID is financing studies on this to help inform discussion in the FAO.
	We have funded dialogues on traditional knowledge, for example through a joint project with the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD). This project contributed to enhancing developing countries' engagement in World Trade Organisation (WTO) and WIPO discussions.
	DFID has supported the work of the 2002 Commission on Intellectual Property Rights (CIPR). The Commission reported that traditional knowledge was an important area where intellectual property protection needed to be developed. The UK Government broadly endorsed the analysis of the CIPR.
	DFID officials participate in the intergovernmental discussions that take place under article 8j of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity. There is a Working Group on Article 8j, which DFID officials participate in, this has worked on (a) improving participation of indigenous communities in decision making processes (b) mechanisms for maintaining traditional knowledge relevant to the conservation and sustainable use (c) promoting the wider application of this traditional knowledge, subject to the consent of communities concerned and (d) encouraging the equitable sharing of benefits arising from the use of traditional knowledge.

Uganda

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much his Department has allocated to aid for the Ugandan Government for the purposes of conducting public prosecutions, with particular reference to the trial of Dr. Kizza Besigye; and if he will make a statement.

Ian McCartney: I have been asked to reply.
	The UK has not allocated any aid to Uganda for the specific purpose of conducting public prosecutions. The trial of Dr. Kizza Besigye is funded from the Government of Uganda's budget for justice, law and order. A number of development partners, including the UK, provide budget support to Uganda. This form of aid is the best way to support the Government's programmes in education, health and in other areas essential to reduce poverty. A recent evaluation of budget support in Uganda concluded that budget support had led to a major increase in the Government's spending to reduce poverty and improved the efficiency of public expenditure and financial management systems.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

2012 Olympics

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport 
	(1)  what the estimated budget is for security at the London 2012 Olympics;
	(2)  what recent revision she has made of the£220 million figure for security costs at the London 2012 Olympics; and what the total security costs were at  (a) the Sydney 2000 Olympics and  (b) the Athens 2004 Olympics.

Tessa Jowell: holding answer 22 May 2006
	The overall responsibility for security for the Olympic and Paralympic Games rests with the Home Secretary. He has appointed a senior Metropolitan officer as the security director with day-to-day responsibility for all security related matters.
	The security director is currently reviewing the requirement for providing a safe games for all concerned, and will report to Ministers shortly. We will, with the security director, keep the developing security situation under constant review until the Games are complete so as to be able to respond to changing threats and circumstances.
	Security costs at the Sydney Olympic Games quoted in their post Games report totalled A$170 million (approximately £70 million at today's exchange rate). The approximate cost of security at Athens was €900 million.
	However, as the international security situation continues to change we do not believe that valid cost comparisons can be made with previous games.The Metropolitan police and other agencies are nevertheless in contact with their counterparts in other countries to learn from their operational experiences.

2012 Olympics

Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what recent revision she has made of the estimate of 3 per cent. building cost inflation for the London 2012 Olympics; and how the estimated figure compares with market data.

Tessa Jowell: holding answer 22 May 2006
	Cost work conducted in support of the Olympic bid suggested building cost inflation of 3.5 per cent. in the period 2003-06 and 6.5 per cent. from 2006 onwards.
	Building costs are among those being looked at by the review of Olympic costs, which is ongoing. I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Manchester, Blackley (Graham Stringer) on 10 May 2006,  Official Report, column 311W.

2012 Olympics

Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when the London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games announced that its budget had risen from £1.5 billion to £2 billion; what the reason is for the increase; and on what basis the extra £500 million has been calculated.

Tessa Jowell: holding answer 22 May 2006
	I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him by the Minister for Sport, my right hon. Friend the Member for Sheffield, Central (Mr. Caborn) on 12 May 2006,  Official Report, column 634W.
	There has been no increase in the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games (LOCOG) budget. LOCOG always anticipated that the budget would be around £2 billion. However, the International Olympic Committee asked bidding cities to submit budgets at 2004 prices, which is why the bid files show a budget of £1.5 billion.
	On 24 January 2006, LOCOG published a press notice stating their budget at out-turn prices. In arriving at the figure of £2 billion, LOCOG has applied the relevant compound inflation rates to the appropriate elements of their budget

2012 Olympics

Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what recent assessment she has made of whether the funding package of £2.375 billion for the London 2012 Olympic Games is sufficient to cover the capital costs.

Tessa Jowell: holding answer 22 May 2006
	This is under consideration as a part of the Olympic cost review, which is ongoing. I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Manchester, Blackley (Graham Stringer) on 10 May 2006,  Official Report, column 311W.

2012 Olympics

Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the most recent Government estimate is of the funding necessary for infrastructure improvements required for the London 2012 Olympics in addition to the £2.375 billion agreed funding package.

Tessa Jowell: holding answer 22 May 2006
	I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to him on2 February 2006,  Official Report, column 640W.

2012 Olympics

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what discussions she has had with organisations with a view to extending the benefits of the 2012 Olympic Games into the north-west of England and Greater Manchester.

Richard Caborn: The Government are determined that the whole of the UK, including the north-west of England and Greater Manchester, can contribute to and benefit from the Games in 2012.
	A Nations and Regions Group (NRG), has been established to provide leadership and strategic direction in ensuring that the whole of the UK is engaged with and benefits from the Games in 2012. Each nation and region, including the North West, is represented on the NRG and has been tasked with developing a delivery plan to ensure that it gains the maximum benefits from the Games.
	The north-west has established its own Steering Group to drive forward this agenda. The group, chaired by the north-west Sports Board, includes representation from the Northwest Regional Development Agency, the North West Tourism Forum, Government Office North West, Culture North West, Liverpool Culture Company, Manchester city council and Preston city council.

2012 Olympics

Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when she first informed Parliament that the London Organising Committeeof the Olympic Games had raised its budget from£1.5 billion to £2 billion.

Tessa Jowell: holding answer 22 May 2006
	I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him by my right hon. Friend the Minister for Sport on 12 May 2006,  Official Report, column 634W.
	The London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games (LOCOG) planned on the basis of a budget at outturn prices of 'around £2 billion'. However, because the International Olympic Committee asked bidding cities to submit budgets at 2004 prices, the bid files show a budget of £1.5 billion. The 'around 2 billion' figure was published by LOCOG on 24 January.

2012 Olympics

Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport pursuant to the Minister for Sport's letter of 17 May 2006 to the hon. Member for Faversham and Mid Kent, whether the different inflation rates referred to have also been applied to the £2.375 billion infrastructure budget.

Tessa Jowell: In the costings work prior to the bid different inflation rates were applied to different cost elements. These different rates of inflation reflect the rates appropriate to each element.

Betting and Gaming

Malcolm Moss: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment the Government have made of the effects on the economy of the liberalisation of the betting and gaming industries.

Richard Caborn: The Government commissioned economic studies to inform the policies that are incorporated in the Gambling Act 2005. The results of some of these studies are included in the Regulatory Impact Assessment which accompanied the Act assent and can be found in the Libraries of both Houses.

Departmental Bills (Amendments)

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will list the occasions when an amendment has been moved by  (a) a Labour backbencher,  (b) an Opposition backbencher and  (c) an Opposition Front Bench spokesman to a Bill sponsored by her Department that has been accepted by her Department during the current Session; and if she will make a statement.

David Lammy: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has sponsored the following Bills during the current Session:
	The London Olympic Games and Paralympic Games Bill
	The National Lottery Bill
	Information on amendments moved and accepted during the Committee and Report Stages on these Bills is published in the  Official Report.

Departmental Responsibilities

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will list responsibilities which her Department has lost since 1997; what the  (a) date and  (b) destination Department was in each case; what responsibilities the Department has taken on since 1997; and what the (i) date and (ii) source Department was in each case.

David Lammy: holding answer 15 May 2006
	Ministerial responsibilities are set out in the list of ministerial responsibilities, which is updated regularly. A revised version will be published shortly. Copies of previous versions are available in the Libraries of both Houses.

Departmental Staff

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what incentives her Department offers to encourage staff to share vehicles when travelling to work.

David Lammy: DCMS employs 500 staff in central London and offers parking spaces only to disabled staff, and to cyclists. The vast majority of staff travel to and from work using public transport. The Department is currently investing in improved facilities for cyclists so as to encourage more staff to cycle to work.

Gambling Commission

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what powers the Gambling Commission has to attach conditions to codes of practice about how gambling operators advertise or describe their products.

Richard Caborn: Under the Gambling Act 2005 the Gambling Commission has the power to attach a licence condition making provision for how gambling facilities may be advertised or described.
	The Advertising Standards Authority is working with the Gambling Commission to draw up new codes for non-broadcast gambling advertising, on which it will begin consulting shortly. The Secretary of State also has reserve powers under the Gambling Act to make regulations with regard to the form, content, timing and location of gambling advertising. She will not hesitate to use these powers if it becomes clear that self-regulation is not sufficient to protect children and vulnerable people from exploitation.
	Under the Act Ofcom will continue to set, review and revise standards for broadcast advertising by gambling operators. In doing so Ofcom must consult with the Gambling Commission, and reflect any relevant regulations made by the Secretary of State.

Horse Racing Levy

Malcolm Moss: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much was received by the horse racing industry from the Statutory Levy payment by UK bookmakers in each of the last six years; and what the total VAT payment on the Levy payment was in each year.

Richard Caborn: For the last six years the Horserace Betting Levy contributed the following amounts to the horse racing industry:
	
		
			   £ million 
			 2005-06 (1 )91 
			 2004-05 97.3 
			 2003-04 102 
			 2002-03 74.5 
			 2001-02 67 
			 2000-01 55.2 
			 (1) estimated 
		
	
	To date the Levy has not been liable for VAT.

Lottery Funds

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much has been allocated from the National Lottery Distribution Fund to  (a) the Heritage Lottery Fund,  (b) UK Sports Lottery Distributors,  (c) UK Arts Lottery Distributors and  (d) the Community Fund in each financial year since 1994, not including investment income.

Richard Caborn: The following table shows non-investment income to the Heritage Lottery Fund, the UK Sports Lottery Distributors, the UK Arts Lottery Distributors and the Community Fund.
	
		
			  £ million 
			  Financial year  Heritage Lottery Fund  UK Sports Lottery Distributors  UK Arts Lottery Distributors  Community Fund 
			 1994-95 57.8 57.8 57.8 57.8 
			 1995-96 288.7 288.7 288.7 288.7 
			 1996-97 291.5 291.5 291.5 291.5 
			 1997-98 327.2 327.2 327.2 327.2 
			 1998-99 253.7 253.7 253.7 253.7 
			 1999-2000 244.8 244.8 244.8 244.8 
			 2000-01 258.0 258.0 258.0 258.0 
			 2001-02 275.8 275.8 275.8 275.8 
			 2002-03 225.2 225.2 225.2 225.2 
			 2003-04 216.5 216.5 216.5 216.5 
			 2004-05 226.1 226.1 226.1 226.1 
			 2005-06 230.6 230.6 230.6 230.6

Private Members' Bills

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will list those private Members' Bills in respect of which her Department adopted a policy of neutrality in each session since 2001-02; and if she will make a statement.

David Lammy: Unfortunately, the information requested is not collected by the Department and it could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Action Teams

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether  (a) Pathways to Work,  (b) employment zones and  (c) resources from the Deprived Areas Fund will be available in areas served by action teams.

Anne McGuire: holding answer 16 May 2006
	Pathways to Work and Employment Zones are already operating in many areas where Action Teams operate. The Action Team programme is due to finish later this year.
	The rationale for Action Teams as originally conceived—reaching out to those on benefit who would not otherwise have come into contact with our services—has now, to some extent, been superseded by the creation of Jobcentre Plus and the regime of compulsory work-focused interviews for almost all benefits recipients.
	We recognise, however, that some form of continuing outreach activity will be necessary to encourage the most socially excluded—some of whom will not even be claiming benefits—to make use of the support into work we can offer.
	The purpose of the Deprived Areas Fund is primarily to add value to current mainstream services offered by Jobcentre Plus and it is envisaged that this will build on the most effective elements of community based initiatives such as Action Teams, Working Neighbourhoods and Ethnic Minority Outreach. This will involve continued partnership working with local stakeholders.
	Our recently published Green Paper; "A new deal for welfare: Empowering people to work" sets out proposals for piloting new initiatives to help local partners work together to improve economic regeneration through skills, employment and health.
	Each local area will be asked to develop a consortium comprising local partners with a shared interest in working together to raise local employment rates and improve the local economy. This may include local authorities, employers, learning and skills councils, regional development agencies, primary care trusts and Jobcentre Plus. The key aim of this initiative will be to provide a solution that offers the maximum degree of local flexibility, so that local areas can provide local solutions to local problems.

Child Support Agency

David Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many constituents in Midlothian have migrated from the old Child Support Agency system to the new system.

James Plaskitt: The information requested is not currently available at the geographical level requested.

Child Support Agency

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in Denton and Reddish constituency have had their Child Support Agency cases migrated from the old to the new system.

James Plaskitt: The information requested is not currently available at the geographical level requested.

Child Support Agency

Jim Sheridan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many constituents in Paisley and Renfrewshire, North have migrated from the old Child Support Agency system to the new system.

James Plaskitt: The information requested is not currently available at the geographical level requested.

Child Support Agency

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many non-resident parents were non-compliant with the Child Support Agency in each of the last five years.

James Plaskitt: The administration of the Child Support Agency is the matter for the Chief Executive. He will write to the right hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Stephen Geraghty:
	In reply to your Parliamentary Question about the Child Support Agency the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive.
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many non-resident parents were non-compliant with the Child Support Agency in each of the last five years.
	There are two ways in which non-resident parents can be non-compliant. Information on these is available in the Child Support Agency's Quarterly Summary Statistics (QSS), published on 27(th) April 2006. A copy of this document is available in the House of Commons Library. Specifically:
	Table 7.1 shows Case Compliance - the number of cases that have made a payment (either regular maintenance and/or arrears) via the collection service over the preceding quarter as a percentage of all open cases for which maintenance was charged.
	Table 7.2 shows Maintenance Outcomes - the number of cases with a positive maintenance liability that have made a payment (either regular maintenance and/or arrears) via the collection service or have a Maintenance Direct arrangement in place over the preceding quarter.
	Note that the Agency measures compliance on the basis of cases, rather than non-resident parents, the data therefore reflects this.
	I hope you find this useful.
	
		
			  Extract from CSA Table 7.1: Case Compliance 
			   Overall Agency 
			  Quarter ending  Total cases charged  Total cases received  Case compliance (Percentage) 
			 November 1995 143,000 80,000 56 
			 February 1996 157,000 92,000 58 
			 May 1996 170,000 105,000 62 
			 August 1996 178,000 112,000 63 
			 November 1996 190,000 121,000 63 
			 February 1997 202,000 132,000 65 
			 May 1997 210,000 142,000 68 
			 August 1997 221 ,000 151,000 68 
			 November 1997 235,000 162,000 69 
			 February 1998 246,000 170,000 69 
			 May 1998 264,000 183,000 69 
			 August 1998 279,000 193,000 69 
			 November 1998 296,000 205,000 69 
			 February 1999 309,000 212,000 69 
			 May 1999 325,000 227,000 70 
			 August 1999 335,000 235,000 70 
			 November 1999 347,000 243,000 70 
			 February 2000 352,000 246,000 70 
			 May 2000 358,000 254,000 71 
			 August 2000 364,000 259,000 71 
			 November 2000 369,000 265,000 72 
			 February 2001 366,000 262,000 72 
			 May 2001 368,000 267,000 72 
			 August 2001 370,000 269,000 73 
			 November 2001 372,000 271,000 73 
			 February 2002 368,000 269,000 73 
			 May 2002 371,000 279,000 75 
			 August 2002 373,000 283,000 76 
			 November 2002 377,000 286,000 76 
			 February 2003 373,000 283,000 76 
			 April 2004 409,000 288,000 70 
			 May 2004 410,000 289,000 71 
			 June 2004 411,000 291,000 71 
			 July 2004 414,000 293,000 71 
			 August 2004 415,000 292,000 70 
			 September 2004 414,000 291,000 70 
			 October 2004 414,000 291,000 70 
			 November 2004 417,000 293,000 70 
			 December 2004 415,000 292,000 70 
			 January 2005 413,000 289,000 70 
			 February 2005 413,000 288,000 70 
			 March 2005 415,000 290,000 70 
			 April 2005 414,000 291,000 70 
			 May 2005 414,000 291,000 70 
			 June 2005 415,000 292,000 70 
			 July 2005 419,000 294,000 70 
			 August 2005 420,000 296,000 70 
			 September 2005 423,000 297,000 70 
			 October 2005 425,000 298,000 70 
			 November 2005 428,000 300,000 70 
			 December 2005 431 ,000 302,000 70 
			 January 2006 432,000 304,000 70 
			 February 2006 435,000 306,000 70 
			 March 2006 440,000 313,000 71 
			  Notes: 1. The above includes those old-scheme cases with a Full Maintenance Assessment, and those new-scheme cases with either a Full Maintenance Calculation, or a Default Maintenance Decision. Old-scheme cases with a punitive Interim Maintenance Assessment are excluded from this analysis in line with the Agency's case compliance target definition, as are new-scheme cases being processed clerically. 2. Cases are classed as compliant if they are currently open, and have been charged and paid money via the collection service (either regular maintenance and/or arrears) over the preceding quarter. 3. Volumes are rounded to the nearest thousand and percentages to nearest whole percent. 4. Robust data from the new IT system (CS2) covering the period March 2003-March 2004 is not currently available, and is under development. Data prior to November 1995 is not currently available. 
		
	
	
		
			  Extract from CSA Table 7.2: Maintenance Outcomes 
			   Overall Agency 
			  Quarter ending  Total cases charged  Total cases received  Case compliance (Percentage) 
			 November 1995 252,000 136,000 54 
			 February 1996 267,000 149,000 56 
			 May 1996 279,000 164,000 59 
			 August 1996 292,000 173,000 59 
			 November 1996 307,000 183,000 60 
			 February 1997 323,000 196,000 61 
			 May 1997 334,000 209,000 62 
			 August 1997 352,000 222,000 63 
			 November 1997 372,000 236,000 63 
			 February 1998 389,000 246,000 63 
			 May 1998 410,000 263,000 64 
			 August 1998 430,000 276,000 64 
			 November 1998 443,000 289,000 65 
			 February 1999 461,000 299,000 65 
			 May 1999 483,000 316,000 66 
			 August 1999 499,000 328,000 66 
			 November 1999 515,000 339,000 66 
			 February 2000 527,000 344,000 65 
			 May 2000 539,000 353,000 65 
			 August 2000 544,000 357,000 66 
			 November 2000 546,000 362,000 66 
			 February 2001 545,000 358,000 66 
			 May 2001 547,000 364,000 66 
			 August 2001 551,000 366,000 66 
			 November 2001 557,000 368,000 66 
			 February 2002 561,000 367,000 65 
			 May 2002 567,000 377,000 67 
			 August 2002 561,000 381,000 68 
			 November 2002 564,000 383,000 68 
			 February 2003 503,000 369,000 73 
			 April 2004 560,000 371,000 66 
			 May 2004 565,000 373,000 66 
			 June 2004 570,000 375,000 66 
			 July 2004 576,000 377,000 65 
			 August 2004 581,000 377,000 65 
			 September 2004 584,000 376,000 64 
			 October 2004 587,000 377,000 64 
			 November 2004 592,000 379,000 64 
			 December 2004 596,000 380,000 64 
			 January 2005 600,000 378,000 63 
			 February 2005 607,000 378,000 62 
			 March 2005 613,000 381,000 62 
			 April 2005 619,000 384,000 62 
			 May 2005 625,000 386,000 62 
			 June 2005 631,000 388,000 62 
			 July 2005 639,000 392,000 61 
			 August 2005 644,000 395,000 61 
			 September 2005 651,000 397,000 61 
			 October 2005 658,000 400,000 61 
			 November 2005 667,000 405,000 61 
			 December 2005 674,000 408,000 61 
			 January 2006 683,000 412,000 60 
			 February 2006 692,000 415,000 60 
			 March 2006 703,000 426,000 60 
			  Notes: 1. The above includes those old-scheme cases with a Full Maintenance Assessment, and those new-scheme cases with either a Full Maintenance Calculation, or a Default Maintenance Decision. Old-scheme cases with a punitive Interim Maintenance Assessment are excluded, as are new-scheme cases being processed clerically.  2. Cases are classed as compliant if they are currently open, and have been charged and paid money via the collection service (either regular maintenance and/or arrears), or have a Maintenance Direct arrangement in place over the preceding quarter. 3. Volumes are rounded to the nearest thousand and percentages to nearest whole percent. 4. Robust data from the new IT system (CS2) covering the period March 2003-March 2004 is not currently available, and is under development. Data prior to November 1995 is not currently available.

Data Protection (Processing of Sensitive Personal Data)

Richard Younger-Ross: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what training is given to  (a) Jobcentre Plus and  (b) other benefits staff on dealing with queries from hon. Members in relation to the Data Protection (Processing of Sensitive Personal Data) (Elected Representatives) Order 2002.

Anne McGuire: No specific training on this particular Order is provided to Jobcentre Plus or other DWP staff. However, all staff in the Department must use the Personal Information Policy Guide when dealing with requests for personal information relating to our customers or staff. This is the primary guidance within the Department dealing with personal customer information and when it may be passed to third parties. The Guide contains specific instructions for staff to follow when a request is received under The Data Protection (Processing of Sensitive Personal Data Elected Representatives) Order 2002: SI 2002 no. 2905.

Departmental Expenditure

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will list the 10 non-public sector entities that have received the largest total sum of payments from his Department in each of the last five years.

Jim Murphy: The Department was formed in June 2001. The information for 2001-02 relates to the former Department of Social Security only. Information for 2005-06 will not be available until July 2006. This response covers disbursements (and the value of any other consideration) for goods and services provided under a contract.
	
		
			   Non-public sector entities 
			 2001-02 Consignia (now Royal Mail) 
			  Land Securities Trillium 
			  Electronic Data Systems 
			  British Telecom 
			  Sema Group 
			  Computacenter 
			  Girobank 
			  Capita Business Services 
			  Haden Building Management 
			  Bull Information Systems 
			   
			 2002-03 Electronic Data Systems 
			  Land Securities Trillium 
			  Royal Mail Group 
			  British Telecom 
			  SchlumbergerSema 
			  Remploy 
			  Computacenter (UK) 
			  WS Atkins 
			  Drivers Jonas 
			  Working Links 
			   
			 2003-04 Electronic Data Systems 
			  Land Securities Trillium 
			  Royal Mail Group 
			  British Telecom 
			  Atos Origin/SchlumbergerSema 
			  Remploy 
			  Computacenter (Uk) 
			  Central Office Of Information 
			   
			 2004-05 Electronic Data Systems 
			  Land Securities Trillium 
			  Royal Mail Group 
			  British Telecom 
			  Atos Origin 
			  Remploy 
			  IBM 
			  Capita 
			  Accenture

Departmental Targets

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what targets his Department hasset for the number of days taken to rate claims for (a) income support,  (b) jobseeker's allowance and (c) incapacity benefit in Tamworth constituency;
	(2)  how many days it took to rate a claim for  (a) income support,  (b) jobseeker's allowance and (c) incapacity benefit in Tamworth constituency in the most recent period for which figures are available.

Anne McGuire: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus, Lesley Strathie. She will write to the hon. Member.
	 Letter from Lesley Strathie:
	The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your questions asking what targets we have set to process claims for Income Support, Jobseeker's Allowance and Incapacity Benefit and how many days it took to process a claim, in the most recent period for which figures are available, in the Tamworth constituency. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
	The time taken to process benefit claims is measured within Jobcentre Plus as Average Actual Clearance Times (ACCT), which are included as a Jobcentre Plus Target for 2006/07.
	The current AACT targets for Income Support, Jobseeker's Allowance and Incapacity Benefit, and the performance levels for Hanley Benefit Delivery Centre (BDC) where claims are now processed for most of Staffordshire, including Tamworth, are in the table below.
	
		
			   Jobcentre Plus Target AACT 2006-07  AACT Hanley BDC April 2006 
			 Income Support 11 days 11.4 days 
			 Jobseeker's Allowance 12 days 14.6 days 
			 Incapacity Benefit 18 days 11.7 days 
		
	
	The ACCT for all three benefits are showing a month on month improvement. A national initiative is currently underway to further improve AACT performance across all three benefits. To drive this, a weekly review of outstanding claims was instigated from 15 May 2006.

Equal Pay

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of Statefor Work and Pensions how many  (a) women and (b) men are employed in the Department; what the average pay was for (i) women and (ii) men in the Department in (1) 1997 and (2) 2006; what women's average pay is as a percentage of men's average pay; and how many (A) women and (B) men the Department employed in each of the last five years, broken down by grade.

Anne McGuire: The information is as follows:
	1. How many women and men are employed in the Department:
	The Cabinet Office collects and publishes annually statistical information on the civil service by Department. This includes data on the employment of men and women.
	2. Average pay for women and men in the Department in 1997 and 2006:
	Table 1 shows the number of men and women by salary band at 31 October 2002, the first period available following the creation of DWP in 2001 and subsequent reorganisations as a result of its formation.
	
		
			  Table 1: DWP Staff by gender on salary bands at 31 October 2002 
			  Salary band  Male  Female  Total 
			 Up to £10,000 3,810 7,043 10,853 
			 £10,001-£15,000 21,154 56,047 77,201 
			 £15,001-£20,000 12,235 27,599 39,834 
			 £20,001-£25,000 3,691 5,737 9,428 
			 £25,001-£30,000 1,255 1,167 2,422 
			 £30,001-£35,000 373 281 654 
			 £35,001-£40,000 272 191 463 
			 £40,001-£45,000 171 107 278 
			 £45,001-£50,000 143 64 207 
			 £50,001-£55,000 54 29 83 
			 £55, 001-£60,000 57 28 85 
			 £60,001-£65,000 22 8 30 
			 £65,001-£70,000 23 9 32 
			 £70,001-£75,000 17 13 30 
			 £75,001 and over 49 13 62 
			 Total 43,326 98,336 141,662 
			 Median salary 14,710 14,710 14,710 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: DWP Staff by gender on salary bands at 31 March 2006 
			  Salary band  Male  Female  Total 
			 Up to £10,000 12 13 25 
			 £10,001-£15,000 14,261 27,780 42,040 
			 £15,001-£20,000 10,345 31,130 41,474 
			 £20,001-£25,000 9,233 20,817 30,050 
			 £25,001-£30,000 3,119 5,020 8,139 
			 £30,001-£35,000 1,123 1,212 2,335 
			 £35,001-£40,000 304 265 569 
			 £40,001-£45,000 305 262 567 
			 £45,001-£50,000 187 145 332 
			 £50,001-£55,000 226 144 370 
			 £55,001-£60,000 97 88 185 
			 £60,001-£65,000 84 48 132 
			 £65,001-£70,000 37 26 63 
			 £70,001-£75,000 34 12 46 
			 £75,001 and over 92 30 122 
			 Total 39,459 86,992 126,451 
			 Median salary 17,248 16,740 16,740 
		
	
	The salaries do not include any allowances or overtime, nor are they adjusted for liabilities such as national insurance, income tax or occupational pension contributions. The numbers are a headcount, that is, all staff are counted as one irrespective of their working pattern.
	The 25 records where salary is below £10,000 (which is below the minimum of the lowest pay scale in DWP) relate to those staff on recurring periodic appointments who are paid manually. The records therefore show their salary as 0.
	3. How many women and men the Department employed in each of the last five years broken down by grade:
	
		
			  Table 3: DWP Staff by responsibility level and gender at 31 March 2006 
			  Salary band  Male  Female  Total 
			 SCS level 165 85 250 
			 Grades 6 and 7 939 725 1,664 
			 SEO and HEO level 4,120 5,648 9,768 
			 EO level 13,228 28,734 41,962 
			 AO and AA level 21,007 51,800 72,807 
			 Total 39,459 86,992 126,451 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 4: DWP Staff by responsibility level and gender at 31 March 2005 
			  Salary band  Male  Female  Total 
			 SCS level 160 85 245 
			 Grades 6 and 7 966 712 1,678 
			 SEO and HEO level 4,646 6,197 10,843 
			 EO level 13,874 29,661 43,535 
			 AO and AA level 20,611 51,622 72,233 
			 Total 40,257 88,277 128,534 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 5: DWP Staff by responsibility level and gender at 31 March 2004 
			  Salary band  Male  Female  Total 
			 SCS level 154 79 233 
			 Grades 6 and 7 983 715 1,698 
			 SEED and HEO level 4,784 6,379 11,163 
			 EO level 14,391 31,035 45,426 
			 AO and AA level 22,339 56,913 79,252 
			 Total 42,651 95,121 137,772 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 6: DWP Staff by responsibility level and gender at 31 March 2003 
			  Salary band  Male  Female  Total 
			 SCS level 150 74 224 
			 Grades 6 and 7 876 600 1,476 
			 SEIO and HEO level 4,210 5,168 9,378 
			 EO level 14,063 30,216 44,279 
			 AO and AA level 23,049 60,368 83,417 
			 Total 42,348 96,426 138,774 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 7: DWP Staff by responsibility level and gender at 31 March 2002 
			  Salary band  Male  Female  Total 
			 SCS level 125 60 185 
			 Grades 6 and 7 751 501 1,252 
			 SEO and HEO level 4,035 4,727 8,762 
			 EO level 13,200 28,475 41,675 
			 AO and AA level 22,044 59,533 81,577 
			 Total 40,155 93,296 133,451 
		
	
	There are no figures available for 2001 as the DWP was formed in that year. The figures show the staff headcount in the Department on 31 March of each of the years in the table.

Financial Assistance Scheme

Don Touhig: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the average length of time has been between a pension scheme member applying for and receiving payments under the Financial Assistance Scheme.

James Purnell: Individual scheme members do not make applications to the Financial Assistance Scheme. Qualifying pension schemes are required to supply data on their members once liabilities to their members have been discharged: this could be some considerable time after they initially contacted the Financial Assistance Scheme Operational Unit (FAS OU). Trustees may request that initial payments are made to qualifying members before liabilities have been discharged.
	FAS OU issues payments (including any arrears due) to qualifying members as quickly as possible once usable member data has been received and members have confirmed their personal details. Payments are made on the 21st of each month.

Housing Benefit

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much was spent on housing benefit for tenants in  (a) council property,  (b) housing association property,  (c) registered social landlord property and  (d) private sector housing in Tamworth constituency in each of the last three years.

James Plaskitt: The information is not available in the format requested. Expenditure figures are not available broken down by landlord type. The most recent available information is in the table.
	
		
			  Housing benefit gross expenditure in Tamworth borough council, nominal terms 
			  £ million 
			   2002-03  2003-04  2004-05 
			 Rent Rebate 7.6 7.2 7.3 
			 Rent Allowance 3.8 3.9 4.0 
			  Source:  Local authority subsidy claims .

Incapacity Benefit

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many incapacity benefit claimants are expected to have access to pathways to work support by the end of 2006.

Anne McGuire: 900,000 incapacity benefits claimants are expected to have access to Pathways to Work support by the end of 2006, one third of all claimants. By 2008 we will have extended this successful approach further, offering access to all incapacity benefit claimants.

Kvaerner Pension Fund

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the decision of the Pensions Regulator relating to the future contributions of TH Global to the Kvaerner Pension Fund.

James Purnell: None. This is a matter for the Pensions Regulator.

Pensions Regulator

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what measures are in place to ensure transparency in the process used by the pensions regulator for taking decisions; and to whom the pensions regulator is accountable for his decisions.

James Purnell: Any information concerning decisions taken by the pensions regulator needs to respect both legislative prohibitions and the confidentiality of information exchanged between the parties and the regulator. The regulator has published a number of documents containing guidance as to its approach on its website.
	The regulator is accountable to the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions and thus ultimately to Parliament.

Rehabilitation Services

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what recent discussions he has had with  (a) the Treasury,  (b) the Department of Health and  (c) the Department for Trade and Industry on promoting the provision of rehabilitation services by employers;
	(2)  what is his Department's policy for promoting the provision of rehabilitation services by employers; and if he will make a statement;

Anne McGuire: The Government, through their Health, Work and Well-being Strategy, wish to work in partnership with employers, employees, health professionals and insurers to promote the development of comprehensive packages of support. Our aim is to encourage the development of healthy workplaces, to enable employers to retain and rehabilitate employees when they fall ill and to maximise the effectiveness of healthcare in restoring well-being.
	To take this forward we have established a ground-breaking partnership with the Department of Health, and its Scottish and Welsh counterparts, and the Health and Safety Executive. This work is overseen by a Joint Ministerial Group which also includes the Department for Trade and Industry and the Treasury.
	Under the Strategy we have, for example, started to pilot Workplace Health Connect which provides small and medium-sized employers in England and Wales with advice on occupational health and return to work issues via a national help line. The pilot also offers more personalised support across regions covering some 40 per cent. of the country's small and medium-sized enterprises.

SCOTLAND

Electors (Scotland)

David Marshall: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many electors there were in each parliamentary constituency in Scotland on 5 May 2005.

David Cairns: The information requested can be found in the following table.
	
		
			  Constituency name and electorate  Number 
			 Aberdeen North 65,714 
			 Aberdeen South 67,012 
			 Aberdeenshire West and Kincardine 65,548 
			 Airdrie and Shotts 60,618 
			 Angus 63,093 
			 Argyll and Bute 67,271 
			 Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock 72,786 
			 Ayrshire Central 67,838 
			 Ayrshire North and Arran 72,986 
			 Banff and Buchan 65,750 
			 Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk 70,855 
			 Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross 46,629 
			 Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill 66,753 
			 Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East 64,254 
			 Dumfries and Galloway 73,143 
			 Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale 65,083 
			 Dunbartonshire East 63,918 
			 Dunbartonshire West 67,853 
			 Dundee East 63,335 
			 Dundee West 65,857 
			 Dunfermline and West Fife 70,775 
			 East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow 75,251 
			 East Lothian 70,672 
			 Edinburgh East 65,154 
			 Edinburgh North and Leith 68,352 
			 Edinburgh South 61,499 
			 Edinburgh South West 67,584 
			 Edinburgh West 66,261 
			 Falkirk 76,784 
			 Fife North East 62,059 
			 Glasgow Central 63,869 
			 Glasgow East 64,218 
			 Glasgow North 55,370 
			 Glasgow North East 62,106 
			 Glasgow North West 61,686 
			 Glasgow South 68,583 
			 Glasgow South West 61,828 
			 Glenrothes 66,563 
			 Gordon 71,925 
			 Inverclyde 59,291 
			 Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey 69,395 
			 Kilmarnock and Loudoun 71,400 
			 Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath 71,603 
			 Lanark and Hamilton East 73,824 
			 Linlithgow and East Falkirk 76,718 
			 Livingston 75,798 
			 Midlothian 60,193 
			 Moray 65,498 
			 Motherwell and Wishaw 65,467 
			 Na h-Eileanan an lar 21,169 
			 Ochil and South Perthshire 70,731 
			 Orkney and Shetland 32,639 
			 Paisley and Renfrewshire North 63,076 
			 Paisley and Renfrewshire South 60,181 
			 Perth and North Perthshire 71,842 
			 Renfrewshire East 65,714 
			 Ross, Skye and Lochaber 50,351 
			 Rutherglen and Hamilton West 74,089 
			 Stirling 64,086

Ministerial Visits (Accommodation)

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what the total cost was of overnight accommodation for Ministers of State in his Department on foreign visits in each of the last three years.

David Cairns: Since 1999, the Government have published an annual list of all visits overseas undertaken by Cabinet Ministers costing £500 or more during each financial year; this information includes accommodation costs. Copies are available in the Library. In the last three years, none of the Parliamentary Under-Secretaries of State have travelled abroad on official business.

Portland PR

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what meetings officials in his Department have had with representatives of the public relations company Portland PR; what contracts Portland PR has with his Department; and what the nature of the contract is in each case.

David Cairns: The Scotland Office does not maintain a central list of such meetings. Civil servants meet many people as part of the process of policy development and business delivery. All such meetings are conducted in accordance with the requirements of the civil service code and guidance for civil servantson contacts with lobbyists and people outside Government.
	The Scotland Office has no contracts with Portland PR.

Promotion Boards

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what promotion boards have been held in his Department in each of the last five years.

David Cairns: Staff in the Scotland Office are on loan from the Scottish Executive or the Department for Constitutional Affairs and the Office normally advertises vacant positions in those Departments. Posts can be filled on level transfer or by promotion; checking which posts were filled by promotees over the last five years would involve revisiting the files held by the Scottish Executive and the Department for Constitutional Affairs over this period and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

DEFENCE

Air-to-Air Refuelling

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has to maintain existing air-to-air refuelling capability following delays to the Future Strategic Tanker Aircraft programme.

Adam Ingram: We expect the air-to-air refuelling capability provided by the current VC10 and TriStar fleets to meet our requirements until the introduction of the Future Strategic Tanker Aircraft.

Army Discharge Applications

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many serving soldiers have made an application for discharge; and what the grounds were for each application.

Tom Watson: The following table shows the number of applications, from both regular army officers and other ranks, to leave the Army in each financial year since 1996. Details of the reasons for the applications to leave are not held centrally and could be provided only at a disproportionate cost.
	
		
			   Applications to leave the Army from:  
			  Financial year  Officers( 1,2)  Other ranks( 2)  Total number of applications to leave the Army 
			 1996-97 490 7,760 8,250 
			 1997-98 550 7,620 8,180 
			 1998-99 520 7,820 8,330 
			 1999-2000 550 7,360 7,910 
			 2000-01 690 7,840 8,530 
			 2001-02 530 7,280 7,810 
			 2002-03 520 6,350 6,870 
			 2002-04 600 6,650 7,250 
			 2004-05 710 7,380 8,090 
			 Total(3) 5,150 66,070 71,220 
			 2006(4) 730 7,090 7,820 
			 (1) Officer numbers comprise applications and resultant exits for premature transfer to the reserve, premature voluntary retirement and voluntary relinquishment or resignation of commission. (2) For certain groups of female personnel, data on exits on marriage or pregnancy grounds are available, but data on applications are not. In these cases, the number of applications in a period has been counted as the number of exits during that period. This affects: (a) Army officers who exit on pregnancy; (b) Army soldiers who exit on marriage or pregnancy. (3) Total is the sum of complete financial years only. March 2006 shows VO applications and exits for 12 months up to 1 March 2006 and is not included within the total. (4) March 2006.  Notes: 1. UK regular army includes nursing services and excludes full time reserve service personnel, Gurkhas, the home service battalions of the Royal Irish Regiment and mobilised reservists. 2. Data are for financial years. 3. The term premature voluntary release (PVR) has been changed to voluntary outflow (VO) although the methodology remains the same. 4. For this purpose, VO is defined as all applications and exits from trained personnel which are generated by the individual before their time expiry. 5. Females who leave on pregnancy grounds are included in both VO applications and exits wherever possible. It should be noted that since August 1990, female personnel who are pregnant are no longer required to leave the services, but have an option of either leaving or returning to work after maternity leave. All applications are counted according to the date received in MOD. 6. Due to the rounding methods used, totals may not always equal the sum of the parts. When rounding to the nearest 10, numbers ending in 5 have been rounded to the nearest multiple of 20 to prevent systematic bias.  Source: DASA (Tri-Services)

Budgetary Statistics

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the letter of 30 March 2006 from the Minister of State, when he will provide the hon. Member for the Forest of Dean with the tables setting out the breakdown of main and supplementary outturn data by top level budget holder, request for resources, departmental expenditure limit near cash and non-cash, annual managed expenditure and non-budget for financial years 2001-02 to 2004-05.

Adam Ingram: I have placed copies of the tables in the Library of the House today.

Camp Ashraf

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what protection is provided for members of the Mujahedin-e Khalq Organisation by  (a) Coalition forces and  (b) Iraqi Security forces at Camp Ashraf in Iraq;
	(2)  whether members of the Mujahedin-e Khalq Organisation at Camp Ashraf in Iraq are being held indefinitely by Coalition forces.

Des Browne: The Government of Iraq is responsible for the well-being of all individuals in Camp Ashraf. At the request of the Iraqi Government, the Multi-national Force-Iraq (MNF-I) provide perimeter security for the camp. Members of the Mujahedin-e Khalq are not detained by the Coalition forces at Camp Ashraf and may leave at any time. Those with the appropriate documentation are free to return to their country of origin.

Central Wales Tactical Training Area

Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what geographical area makes up the Central Wales Tactical Training Area.

Tom Watson: I will write to the hon. Member, and place a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.

Conscientious Objectors

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many applications to be discharged from the Army on the grounds of conscientious objection to military service have been submitted to his Department by  (a) Army reserves and  (b) long-term reserves for each of the last five years.

Tom Watson: Seven applications have been received in the last five years from members of the Army reserves or long-term reserves to be discharged on the grounds of conscientious objection to military service.

Deepcut

Ben Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to his answer of 10 May 2006,  Official Report, columns 280-81W what evidence he has received that suggests that media coverage of Deepcut has been a factor affecting recruitment; and in which studies the evidence appears.

Tom Watson: holding answer 15 May 2006
	As stated in my answer of 10 May 2006,  Official Report, columns 280-81W, the Ministry of Defence has not undertaken any specific research or study into the impact of Deepcut on recruitment levels. Any such evidence we have received in respect of media coverage of Deepcut is anecdotal, and is based primarily on opinions provided to armed forces recruiting teams out in the field by those who influence the decisions of young men and women, including parents and guardians.
	Negative media coverage of any aspect of the armed forces life may have contributed to a downturn in the number of inquiries in recent years. Conversely, positive media stories, for example Victoria Cross and George Cross awards and successful rescue missions, may contribute to some applicants, who had not previously considered an armed forces career, to inquire.

Departmental Estate

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the highest valuation is of each of the army bases in Northern Ireland for which closure was announced on 10 May.

Tom Watson: We have not yet assessed the value of the properties which are intended to close, as recently announced, but when we do so, it would be unlikely that such information would be disclosed because providing details of the open market valuation could prejudice the commercial interests of the Department by unduly influencing the market if and when properties were sold.

Departmental Expenditure

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the 10 non-public sector entities that have received the largest total sum of payments from his Department in each of the last five years.

Tom Watson: The following tables list the 10 non-public sector entities (in alphabetical order) that have received the largest total sum of payments from the Ministry of Defence in each of the last five financial years.
	 FY 2001-02
	Babcock Support Services
	BAH Systems (Operations)
	EAE Systems Electronics Ltd
	British Telecommunications PLC
	Devonport Royal Dockyard
	MBDA UK Ltd
	QinetiQ Ltd
	Rolls Royce PLC
	Serco Group PLC
	Westland Group PLC
	 FY 2002-03
	BAE Systems (Operations) Ltd
	BAE Systems Electronics Ltd
	British Telecommunications PLC
	Devonport Royal Dockyard Ltd
	General Dynamics UK
	MBDA UK Ltd
	QinetiQ Ltd
	Rolls Royce PLC
	Serco Group PLC
	Westland Group PLC
	 FY 2003-04
	BAE Systems (Operations) Ltd
	BAE Systems Electronics Ltd
	British Telecommunications PLC
	Devonport Royal Dockyard Ltd
	General Dynamics UK
	MBDA UK Ltd
	QinetiQ Ltd
	Rolls Royce PLC
	Royal Ordnance PLC
	Westland Group PLC
	 FY 2004-05
	BAE Systems (Operations) Ltd
	BAE Systems Electronics Ltd
	BAE Systems Land Systems (Munitions and Ordnance) Ltd
	British Telecommunications PLC
	Devonport Royal Dockyard Ltd
	Europaams SAS
	General Dynamics UK
	MBDA UK Ltd
	QinetiQ Ltd
	Westland Group PLC
	 FY 2005-06
	BAE Systems (Operations) Ltd
	BAE Systems Electronics Ltd
	British Telecommunications PLC
	Devonport Royal Dockyard Ltd
	EDS Defence Ltd
	General Dynamics UK
	MBDA UK Ltd
	QinetiQ Ltd
	Serco Group PLC
	Westland Group PLC
	 Source:
	Defence Bills Agency and Defence Analytical Services Agency
	The term 'non-public sector entities' has been taken to refer to all UK and foreign owned private companies and firms with whom the MOD contracts. It includes all subsidiaries and individual units of a company and is therefore not organised by holding company. A listing aggregated to holding company could only be provided at disproportionate cost due to the high volume of work required to map the changing corporate structure and ownership of large defence suppliers on a yearly basis.
	The listings exclude all public sector bodies as listed in the "Re-use of Public Sector Information Regulations 2005" including all Government Departments, Agencies, Trading Funds, Non departmental Public Bodies (NDPBs) and Government Owned Contractor Operated (GOCO) entities.
	Payment of grants, credits and subsidies under statutory obligations for which the Ministry of Defence is responsible are out of the scope of this question.

Eurofighter

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what discussions the Government have had with BAE Systems regarding the conversion of Eurofighter to land on the Royal Navy's two new aircraft carriers.

Adam Ingram: The necessary actions have been and will continue to be undertaken to ensure that we have the necessary contingency plans for the JSF project. However, we are not prepared to go into the detail of what our contingency plans are.

Falklands War Medal

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will take steps to amend the criteria to enable the Falklands War Medal to be awarded to those who served on RMS St. Helena in support of the UK Government; and if he will make a statement.

Tom Watson: The eligibility criteria for the South Atlantic Medal 1982 were carefully and extensively considered at the time. There are no plans to review these criteria.

Gulf War Syndrome

Nick Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  how many cases of Gulf War Syndrome have been accepted by his Department as being well-founded;
	(2)  how many  (a) service personnel,  (b) former service personnel and  (c) civilian personnel have lodged a claim with his Department for Gulf War Syndrome.

Tom Watson: In a decision welcomed by the Ministry of Defence, a Pension Appeal Tribunal (PAT) found that Gulf War Syndrome was a 'useful umbrella term' to cover accepted conditions which are causally linked to the 1990-91 Gulf Conflict but that Gulf War Syndrome does not exist as a 'discrete pathological entity', or in other words as a recognised disease. A written statement was published on 24 November 2005,  Official Report, columns 128-29WS, setting out our position on this issue. We do not hold figures for those claiming 'Gulf War Syndrome' but since the PAT decision the umbrella term has been applied in six cases.
	The latest figures, as at the end of December 2005, show that about 3,025 veterans whose time in the armed forces includes service in the Gulf were in receipt of a war disablement pension for any condition for which an award would be payable. In addition, at that date, 2,515 such veterans had received a gratuity for disablement assessed at under 20 per cent. There will be some overlap between those figures, as some individuals will have received first a gratuity and then a pension. The figures include awards for both Gulf-related and non-Gulf-related injuries or illnesses, as our records do not distinguish the origin of the disablement (including awards where Gulf War Syndrome is appropriate as an umbrella term). The claimants are former members of the armed forces. Serving members of the armed forces are not covered by the War Pension Scheme but they and MOD) civilians are covered by other occupational schemes.
	In addition, some 2,000 veterans, dependents and civilians have notified the MOD of their intention to claim common law compensation for Gulf War Syndrome or Gulf illnesses but as yet the claimants' solicitors have served no writs or claims of sufficient detail for the Department to be able to start considering these claims.

Iraq (Nuclear Programme)

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the proliferation risks associated with the former Iraqi nuclear programme; and if he will make a statement.

Des Browne: holding answer 8 May 2006
	Saddam Hussein ended the Iraq nuclear programme in 1991 following the Gulf war. The Iraq Survey Group (ISG) concluded that although Saddam clearly assigned a high value to the nuclear work that had taken place up to the 1991 war, the programme had ended and the intellectual capital had decayed in the succeeding years. In the comprehensive report of the special advisor to the director of Central Intelligence on Iraq's WMD, issued in September 2004 and finalised in April 2005, the ISG identify two residual risks—the proliferation of equipment and material, and the proliferation of knowledge.
	In the 1990s IAEA inspectors identified, collected or destroyed all the key dedicated equipment and materials remaining from the pre-1991 nuclear weapon programme. The ISG concluded that the remaining dual-use nuclear equipment does not pose a proliferation risk, provided the Government remains in control of such equipment.
	The ISG also concluded that the risk of (proliferation from scientists passing on information and knowledge is small. It emphasised that the numbers concerned are in fact far less than Saddam had previously led the international community to expect and that such individuals, despite Saddam's efforts, had not maintained their knowledge base/skills as a result of the sanctions regime.
	The UK Government agreed with the conclusions in the ISO report and, in response to the risk of proliferation from scientists passing on information and knowledge, has been holding workshops to help Iraqi scientists to apply for civilian employment.

Joint Strike Fighter Programme

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what progress has been made in discussions with the United States on the joint strike fighter programme in March and April 2006.

Adam Ingram: I refer my hon. Friend to the statement made in my answer of 10 May 2006,  Official Report, column 284-85W, to the hon. Member for Bolton, North-East (Mr. Crausby).

Nuclear Weapons

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence against which countries the UK nuclear deterrent has been targeted since the demise of the Soviet Union.

Des Browne: Since May 1994, the UK's nuclear missiles have not been targeted at any country.

Pest Control (Iraq)

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the companies which have received contracts from his Department for pest control in the south-east region of Iraq.

Tom Watson: The Ministry of Defence has two contractors who provide pest control services to military bases in South Eastern Iraq as part of their operation and maintenance contracts. They are:
	Turners Facilities Management Limited
	Kellogg Brown and Root (UK)

Promotion Boards

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many promotion boards have been held in his Department in each of the last five years.

Tom Watson: We currently have no centralised system for tracking the numbers of staff obtaining substantive promotion in the Ministry of Defence. To provide the information sought would require asking TLBs to trawl their records to ascertain how many promotion boards have been held. This could be done only at disproportionate cost.
	Each year, we hold two Assessment and Development Centres (A and DC); one for staff seeking promotion to Band D (EO), the first of which was held in May 2005; and one for B2 (Principle) grade, the first of which was held in 1993.

Veterans

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will include a web link and contact details for the Ex-Service Fellowship Centre on the Homeless and Need Help "page on the Veteran" Agency website.

Tom Watson: holding answer 22 May 2006
	The web link and contact details for the Ex-Service Fellowship Centre have been included on the "Homeless and Need Help" page on Veterans Agency website.

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Child Protection

Joan Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 3 May 2006,  Official Report, column 1630W, on sex offender vetting, if she will introduce vetting procedures for local councillors on the Sexual Offenders Register who have access to schools and vulnerable people; and if she will make a statement.

Phil Woolas: We have no plans to introduce procedures of the sort suggested. Existing measures provide that, where offenders are considered to pose a risk of harm, impositions and restrictions may be imposed on them, which can prevent their access to schools and vulnerable people.

Congestion Charging

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate the Government have made of the total revenue raised from congestion charge fines in England in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Stephen Ladyman: I have been asked to reply.
	The Government make no such estimates. The congestion charge schemes in London and Durham are the responsibility of the Mayor of London and Durham county council respectively. Individual drivers who evade the applicable congestion charge on the Dartford Crossing may be subject to prosecution, but the Government do not keep a central record of any fines imposed by the courts for these offences.

Correspondence

John Bercow: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister when he will reply to the letter of 21 March from the hon. Member for Buckingham.

Yvette Cooper: I have been asked to reply.
	The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has no record of receiving the hon. Member's letter of21 March 2005. Officials have now obtained a copy of the letter from the hon. Member and a reply has been sent today.

Home Information Packs

Michael Gove: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what estimate he has made of the number of transactions in the residential property market where the lender will require a separate valuation inspection following the introduction of home information packs.

Yvette Cooper: I have been asked to reply.
	The Home Condition Report and the associated certification arrangements for Home Inspectors have been developed in consultation with industry to ensure that lenders can have confidence in the report, and that it contains the information they need to generate valuations for mortgage purposes without the need for a further inspection report in the majority of cases. The HCR is far more extensive than the surveys on which most valuations are based. Lenders are already moving to automated valuation models. Even in cases where lenders believe additional information is needed we would expect the HCR to cut the costs of the valuation process.

Local Government Funding

Adam Afriyie: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what total amount of Local Government grant is affected by the use of mid-year population data.

Phil Woolas: The 2006-07 and indicative 2007-08 Local Government Finance Settlements, announced in the House on 31 January 2006, included the use of sub-national population projections as the dominant data drivers of population. Mid-2004 population estimates were also used within wider indicators used in the calculation of top-ups in the formulae for these settlements.
	Population data are used throughout the distribution system. Both the population projections and mid-year estimates are used in Relative Needs Formula indicators. Population projections are also used to determine the Relative Needs Amount, Relative Resource Amount and Central Allocation as these are calculated on a per head basis. The distribution of formula grant is also affected by the social and economic characteristics of an area, a council's relative ability to raise council tax, and floor damping.

Local Government Funding

Adam Afriyie: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps the Government plans to take to ensure local authorities do not experience funding shortfalls from under-estimates of the level of migration in their mid-year population estimates.

Phil Woolas: The Local Government Finance Settlements for 2006-07 and 2007-08 were laid before the House on the 31 January 2006 and the settlement for 2006-07 was agreed on the 6 February 2006.
	For formula grant allocations, the DCLG use the best data available on a consistent basis for all authorities that are available at the time. For population, these are the 2003-based population projections and mid-2004 population estimates published by the Office for National Statistics. The population projections have been used as the dominant driver for population in the formula, while mid-year estimates of population have been used as a component of indicators used in the calculation of top-ups.
	The DCLG protect all local authorities from detrimental changes to their grant allocation through the floor damping mechanism, which is a component of the formula grant distribution system.

Minister for Women

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much the Parliamentary Secretary for Women and Equality will be paid per year.

Hilary Armstrong: I have been asked to reply
	In line with the rate of pay for parliamentary secretaries across Government, the salary of the Parliamentary Secretary for Women and Equality is currently £29,786 and will increase to £30,081 from1 November.

Ministerial Visits (Accommodation)

David Simpson: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what discounts are available in relation to hotel accommodation used by  (a) civil servants and  (b) special advisers in his private office.

Angela Smith: I have been asked to reply.
	Some hotels offer a reduced rate for those on government business. My private office staff travelling on official business use these when available.

Regional Government

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how the regional sustainable development round tables will be funded.

Ian Pearson: I have been asked to reply.
	Regional sustainable development round tables are resourced by regional bodies which are members of their round tables, including regional development agencies, Government offices and regional assemblies.
	In April 2006, the Government launched "Securing the Regions' Futures" to strengthen regional deliveryof sustainable development. In this publication Government recognised the role of round tables and committed to contributing to a two-year programme of regional sustainable development activities which each round table puts forward.

SOLICITOR-GENERAL

Crown Prosecution Service

David Amess: To ask the Solicitor-General who in the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is responsible for progress on each of the targets set out on page 7 of its Business Plan 2006-07; to whom each person reports; what discussions he has had with stakeholders about implementation of each target; and if he will make a statement.

Mike O'Brien: The CPS headquarters directors responsible for delivering the targets set out on page 7 of the CPS Business Plan 2006-07 are given in the section of the Plan entitled "Delivering the CPS Priorities for 2006-07." They all report to the Chief Executive and the Director of Public Prosecutions.
	Regular consultation on the Public Service Agreement and other CPS and Criminal Justice System (CJS) targets is conducted with CJS colleagues, including the Office for Criminal Justice Reform, and with other stakeholders through the work of the National Criminal Justice Board. The Attorney-General, the Director of Public Prosecutions and Chief Executive of the CPS and I are members of, and play a full part in, the National Criminal Justice Board.

Crown Prosecution Service

David Amess: To ask the Solicitor-General how many copies of the Crown Prosecution Service Business Plan 2006-07 were produced; at what cost; to whom copies were disseminated; who was consulted prior to publication; how  (a) hon. Members,  (b) Members of the House of Lords and  (c) members of the public can obtain copies; at what cost; and if he will make a statement.

Mike O'Brien: 2,000 copies of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) Business Plan 2006-07 were produced at a cost of £13,452.15. The copies are available to staff, circulated to criminal justice partners, via Chief Crown Prosecutors to local stakeholders and to other Government Departments. The Plan is not formally laid before Parliament but is available electronically on the CPS website (www.cps.gov.uk) or can be obtained, without charge, by contacting the CPS at 50 Ludgate Hill London EC4M 7EX.
	The plan is prepared from contributions across the CPS and, where cross-cutting CJS initiatives are described, CJS partners including the Office for Criminal Justice Reform are consulted.

HOUSE OF COMMONS COMMISSION

Dining Room Bookings

John Mann: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission which hon. Members have booked one of the dining rooms A, B, C and D for lunch or dinner in the last 12 months; and on behalf of which organisations in each case.

Nick Harvey: It is not the practice of the House to release details of bookings made by individual hon. Members of catering facilities, whether made for private functions or on behalf of internal or external organisations. Any Member sponsoring a function in the House's banqueting facilities is obliged to declare any relevant interest, and the rules do not allow use of the private dining rooms for direct financial or material gain by a sponsoring Member or any other person or outside organisation.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Biofuels

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent discussions  (a) he and  (b) his officials have had with their counterparts in the German Government on ways of expanding the biofuel industry.

Ian Pearson: No specific bilateral discussions have taken place with Germany. However, the right hon. Member for Derby, South (Margaret Beckett) and officials were involved in EU discussions on the biomass action plan, which was published in December 2005. The plan outlines how energy from crops, trees and waste can make a strong contribution to reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Consultants

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will list the companies which were paid consultancy fees by his Department in 2005-06; how much each was paid; and what each of the companies was used to accomplish.

Barry Gardiner: The Department does not hold a central list of what every consultancy and professional services provider was used to accomplish and such a list could be provided only at disproportionate cost. As part of the preparation of its annual value for money return to the Office of Government Commerce the core-department is analysing its expenditure on consultancy and professional services for the financial year 2005-06. A list of the companies which were paid consultancy and professional fees by the Department in 2005-06 and how much each was paid will be placed in the Library of the House by no later than the week commencing 24 July 2006.

Departmental Budget

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much was spent on advertising by his Department in each of the last three years.

Barry Gardiner: The centralised departmental expenditure on advertising in the last three financial years was as follows:
	
		
			   £ 
			 2003-04 70,000 
			 2004-05 739,000 
			 2005-06 890,000 
		
	
	Information on advertising spend by non-departmental public bodies, executive agencies and independent statutory bodies is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Staff

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what facility is available for senior civil servants in his Department to use credit cards supplied by the Department.

Barry Gardiner: The Government Procurement Card (GPC), which is a bespoke commercial Visa Purchasing Card, is available currently to all Departments. The GPC is generally used for the prompt and efficient payment of goods and services across the UK public sector and is also widely used by Government officials including Senior Civil Servants for payment of travel and subsistence.
	There are currently in excess of 73,000 GPC's issued across the UK public sector. Additionally, there are currently in excess of 130,000 Government Fuel Cards (GFC's) issued across the UK public sector.
	Defra has 1326 GPC's and 135 GFC's.

Fishing (Cornwall)

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many fishermen operate from Cornwall's four biggest ports.

Ben Bradshaw: The Department does not hold this specific information. However, data are available on the number of fishermen operating in the Western District in 2004 following a survey carried out by the Marine Fisheries Agency. 801 fishermen were operating at the time, 729 of whom were full-time while 72 were part-time. The Marine Fisheries Agency also holds information relating to the number of vessels whose home ports are respectively Newlyn, Falmouth, Looe and Padstow—the four biggest ports in Cornwall based on the amount of landings in the period 2003 to 2005. Currently, there are 99 vessels over 10 m in length and 211 vessels of length 10 m and under.

Lord Rooker

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what proportion of Lord Rooker's time is expected to be spent on the affairs of his Department.

Barry Gardiner: My noble Friend will spend all the time that is necessary to fulfil his responsibility as Minister for Sustainable Farming and Food.

Ministerial Visits

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discounts are available in relation to hotel accommodation used by  (a) civil servants and  (b) special advisers in his Department.

Barry Gardiner: From information held centrally, civil servants and special advisers travelling on official business have through DEFRA's hotel booking agent taken 5,494 room nights during the financial year 2005-06 and which have attracted an average discount of 31.8 per cent. off published tariffs.

Modulation

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans he has for funding the voluntary modulation measure to reward farmers for making a contribution to his Department's environmental targets.

Barry Gardiner: In England, we have been using voluntary modulation since 2001. This has enabled us to reward farmers for protecting and enhancing the environment. In 2006, agri-environment payments from voluntary modulation receipts will continue to be match-funded with exchequer money.
	Discussions are continuing within Government about how to fund the new Rural Development Programme for England 2007-13. These discussions are subject to European Commission proposals about how the voluntary modulation mechanism will operate from 2007 onwards. No decisions have yet been taken about the application of voluntary modulation and any match-funding in this period.

Nuclear Waste Storage

David Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the storage options for nuclear waste; and if he will make a statement.

Ian Pearson: Storage options for nuclear waste are being assessed by the independent Committee on Radioactive Waste Management (CoRWM), which was appointed by the Government in November 2003.
	The short list of options that CoRWM is currently assessing are: long-term interim storage; deep geological disposal, phased deep geological disposal and near surface disposal of short-lived decommissioning waste.
	CoRWM have published draft recommendations which are open to public consultation until May26 2006. They are available at:
	http://www.corwm.org.uk/pdf/None%20-%20CoRWMs%20Draft%20Recommendations%2027%20April.pdf
	Storage of nuclear waste is the responsibility of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, who will review their strategy in light of CoRWM's recommendations.

Portland PR

Tony Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what meetings officials in his Department have had with representatives of the public relations company Portland PR; what contracts Portland PR has withhis Department and agencies for which he has responsibility; and what the nature of the contract is in each case.

Barry Gardiner: The Department does not maintain a central list of such meetings. Civil servants meet many people as part of the process of policy development and business delivery. All such meetings are conducted in accordance with the requirements of the civil service code and guidance for civil servantson contacts with lobbyists and people outside Government.

Rural Development Programmes

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment his Department has made of the impact on farmers in border areas of having different provisions for animal welfare in the rural development programmes in England, Wales and Scotland between 2007 and 2013.

Barry Gardiner: There will continue to be separate rural development programmes for England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland for the new programming period, 2007-13. This is necessary to reflect the different priorities and needs identified within each part of the UK. There will be some differences in the application of measures provided for by the Rural Development Regulation in different parts of the UK, and farmers in border areas will only be eligible for rural development support under the programme covering the area in which their land is located.

Rural Development Programmes

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions he has had with the devolved administrations about the rural development programmes for England, Wales and Scotland between 2007 and 2013.

Barry Gardiner: Since taking up my post on May 5, I have not yet met with colleagues in the devolved administrations to discuss rural development. However, our officials meet regularly to co-ordinate the approach within the UK to the EU Rural Development Regulation.

Rural Development Programmes

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when he expects to publish the outcome of the consultation on the England rural development programme 2007 to 2013; and if he will make a statement.

Barry Gardiner: The consultation on the rural development programme for England 2007-13 closed on Monday 22 May. We are now analysing the responses and will publish a report on the results as soon as possible.

Sewage

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what research he has  (a) commissioned and  (b) evaluated on the potential risks to health arising from the spreading of sewage sludge on fields near homes.

Ian Pearson: holding answer 22 May 2006
	A study carried out in the USA has examined the evidence for  Staphylococcus aureus (SA) in sewage sludge applied to land and whether a route existed by which populations living in proximity to sludge spreading could be infected. The result of this work was that no SA were detected in any background aerosol or sludge aerosol sample.
	The producers of sewage sludge (the water companies) work closely with farmers to ensure that recycling to agricultural land is carried out in accordance with: (i) The Sludge (Use in Agriculture) Regulations 1989 as amended, enforced by the Environment Agency, (ii) the Safe Sludge Matrix, under which they have agreed to ban the use of untreated sludge, and (iii) the non-statutory code of practice, which includes recommendations on environmental protection relating to odour control and proximity to properties.

Sustainable Development

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how his Department has sought to influence consumption patterns since the publication of "Securing the Future", the UK Government's Sustainable Development Strategy.

Ian Pearson: Following the publication of "Securing the Future" on 7 March 2005, we have collated evidence on the environmental impacts arising from households and how to influence patterns of use. A new information service, will offer advice to the public on how to make the most sustainable consumption choices. Our Environmental Action Fund initiative provides support to voluntary projects to influence consumer behaviour.
	The new Round Table on Sustainable Consumption provides advice to Government for actions and policies to create a shift to more sustainable lifestyles. These measures will help the Government to continue to develop sustainable consumption policies. A report on progress will be published in late 2006.

Tallow

Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  under what terms renderers are permitted to burn tallow;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the  (a) environmental and  (b) economic consequences of the incentive scheme for the burning of tallow.

Ian Pearson: The EU Animal By-Products Regulation (ABPR) requires a range of animal by-products and substances derived from them (including tallow), to be disposed of as waste. Where the method of disposal is incineration or co-incineration (i.e. use as a fuel), the ABPR requires it to be carried out in compliance with the waste incineration directive (WID). Installations may burn tallow provided they comply with these requirements.
	There is no specific incentive scheme for the burning of tallow although, as a form of biomass, tallow burning may qualify for renewables obligation certificates (ROCs). Since the WID came fully into force however, the Government are not aware of any significant burning of tallow which is eligible for ROCs.

Water

David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what  (a) representations he has received and  (b) action he is pursuing in respect of water shortages in south-east London.

Ian Pearson: We have received a number of representations about the implications for water supply of the continuing drought in the south-east though few have been from south-east London.
	Any projected shortage in water supply this year will be addressed though the relevant water company's drought plan. Drought plans contain mechanisms which trigger a range of actions to be initiated at different times as a drought develops. One of the actions may involve applying to my Department for drought orders to restrict non-essential uses of water, as some companies in the south-east of England have already done. For example, on 15 May 2006 the Secretary of State granted Sutton and East Surrey Water's application for a non-essential use drought order.

Water

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps are being taken to reduce water leakage in  (a) England and  (b) the Thames Water area.

Ian Pearson: Water companies have a duty to develop and maintain efficient and economical systems of water supply. Since 1996 Ofwat has assessed water company performance against leakage targets that balance the needs of customers and the environment. This approach has resulted in a reduction in leakage of around 29 per cent. since 1994-95.
	In 2001, following Thames Water's failure to meet their leakage targets, Ofwat suspended the company's leakage targets in favour of an action plan to improve its leakage monitoring and control activities. Thames Water is also required to provide quarterly reports on progress with its agreed leakage reduction plan. The aim is to restore leakage to its target level and achieve adequate security of supplies.
	The company is now carrying out 60 per cent. more repairs than two years ago, and a major upgrade of its water distribution network in London is under way. This involves the replacement of more than 1,200 km of water mains by 2010. In 2004-05 Thames Water reduced its overall leakage for the first time since 1999-2000.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

Consultants

Alan Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry which consultancy firms have been engaged by his Department to provide advice about the funding of the Royal Mail over the last 12 months.

Jim Fitzpatrick: This Department has in the last12 months engaged Deloitte and Credit Suisse to provide advice on funding of the Royal Mail.

Insolvency Service

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will estimate the  (a) outgoings and  (b) revenue of the Official Receiver in the Insolvency Service for each year since 1989; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Fitzpatrick: Prior to 1 April 2004 The Insolvency Service was funded on a gross basis and its fees were not set in accordance with HM Treasury Fees and Charges Guide which requires that fees should be set only to recover costs. Changes introduced by the Enterprise Act 2002 led to The Service moving to a net funded regime from 1 April 2004 and since that date fees have been set in accordance with the Fees and Charges Guide.
	Official Receiver's staff carry out both case administration functions that are funded from fees and investigation and enforcement functions that are funded from a DTI programme. However, other staff in The Service also carry out investigation and enforcement functions and the costs are not separately shown to those incurred by Official Receiver's on these activities.
	Prior to The Service becoming an agency in 1990 results were included in the DTI's appropriation accounts. Since 1990-91 Annual Report and Accounts have been published and are available in the Libraries of the House. Annual Reports and Accounts since 2000-01 are also available on The Service's website at www.insolvency.gov.uk.

Minimum Wage

David Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much has been spent on publicising the October 2005 changes to the national minimum wage.

Jim Fitzpatrick: DTI spent £418,300 (excluding VAT) on paid advertising to publicise the October 2005 increases in the national minimum wage. In addition the cost of producing guides and mailings cost the Department £22,295.

Renewable Energy

Kitty Ussher: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of the contribution that renewable energy generation could make to meeting future energy needs.

Malcolm Wicks: The Energy Review is currently looking at the potential for emerging technologies in the low carbon field and how best to bring them forward.
	The Government remain committed to making progress towards its target of 10 per cent. of electricity from Renewable Obligation eligible sources of energy by 2010, with an aspiration to double that by 2020.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Animal Protection

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many  (a) males and  (b) females have been (i) prosecuted and (ii) convicted of offences under (A) the Protection of Badgers Act 1992, (B) the Zoo Licensing Act 1981, (C) the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, (D) the Pet Animals Act 1951, (E) the Wild Mammals Protection Act 1996 and (F) the Deer Act 1991 in each year since 1996, broken downby age.

Liam Byrne: The requested information is provided in the table (a copy of which will be placed in the House Library), comprising prosecutions and convictions for males and females in England and Wales, by age group for offences under the following acts, the Protection of Badgers Act 1992, the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, the Pet Animals Act 1951, the Wild Mammals Protection Act 1996 and the Deer Act 1991. Responsibility for the day-to-day operation of the licensing system and the administration of the Zoo Licensing Act 1981 rests with local authorities and no criminal proceedings can be brought under the Act. Data for 2005 will be available in the autumn.

Arrest Warrants

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many arrest warrants for  (a) non-payment of fines and  (b) breaching of the conditions of a community service order have been cancelled in each of the last five years.

Harriet Harman: I have been asked to reply.
	Information on the number of arrest warrants for  (a) non-payment of fines and  (b) breaching of the conditions of a community service order which have been cancelled in each of the last five years is not collected centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Child Exploitation and Online Protection Agency

Michael Spicer: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what measures he has taken to ensure that the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Agency is alert to sophisticated uses of the internet to exploit children.

Vernon Coaker: holding answer 22 May 2006
	The Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP) was launched on 24 April. The Centre is a world first and will play a decisive part, with police forces, offender managers, children's services and other stakeholders, in protecting children, young people, families and society from paedophiles and sex offenders; in particular from those who use the internet and other new technologies in the sexual exploitation of children.
	CEOP is different from traditional policing responses, with law enforcement officers sitting alongside industry and child protection experts. It is built around three core faculties—Intelligence, Operations and Harm Reduction—and will deliver a range of functions designed to empower children and parents through information and education, protect young people through better use of intelligence and better management of offenders and enforce the law both on and offline.
	The clear focus on intelligence about offenders and the direct input from the industry will drive CEOP's operational and harm reduction effort, as well as the support it can provide to its partners, in protecting children from those who seek to use new technologies to exploit them.
	The Centre is legally part of the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) but is operationally autonomous with a separate budget of nearly£5 million. The Centre reports to Home Office Ministers and is accountable through SOCA's governance structure.

Child Exploitation and Online Protection Agency

Margaret Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre will be registered under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000.

Vernon Coaker: The Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP) is affiliated to the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA). SOCA is a relevant public authority for the purposes of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA) by virtue of amendments to that Act contained in schedule 4 of the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 and consequent to statutory instrument 2006 No. 594. Although CEOP is operationally autonomous and has a specific budget, it is legally part of SOCA and therefore needs no separate provisions in relation to RIPA.

Court Case Statistics

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of cases were heard in  (a) magistrates courts and  (b) Crown courts in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available in (i) England and Wales and (ii) the Southend area concerning  (A) shoplifting,  (B) theft and  (C) burglary; and what percentage of defendants in each category of crime, were found (1) guilty and(2) not guilty.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The information requested is provided in the following tables.
	
		
			  Number and percentage of cases heard at magistrates courts, crown courts and number found guilty at all courts for theft from shops', burglary and total theft, England and Wales 1994-2004( 1) 
			   Magistrates court cases (Percentage)  Crown court cases (Percentage) 
			  Year/Offence  Proceeded against  Heard at magistrates courts  Committed for trial to crown court  Found guilty  Found not guilty ( 2)  Total tried  Found guilty  Found not guilty ( 3) 
			  Theft from shops 
			 1994 60,019 96 4 82 18 2,016 76 24 
			 1995 61,468 97 3 82 18 2,011 76 24 
			 1996 65,220 97 3 83 17 1,954 75 25 
			 1997 69,666 97 3 84 16 2,003 77 23 
			 1998 77,915 98 2 86 14 1,550 74 26 
			 1999 85,491 98 2 87 13 1,379 70 30 
			 2000 89,050 99 1 87 13 1,217 70 30 
			 2001 92,233 99 1 87 13 1,293 72 28 
			 2002 92,664 99 1 87 13 1,192 74 26 
			 2003 86,089 99 1 87 13 1,188 75 25 
			 2004 78,241 99 1 89 11 1,035 76 24 
			  
			  Burglary 
			 1994 59,217 74 26 59 41 13,643 89 11 
			 1995 53,071 75 25 59 41 13,191 89 11 
			 1996 50,241 74 26 58 42 11,971 90 10 
			 1997 49,530 69 31 56 44 13,794 91 9 
			 1998 48,114 77 23 59 41 10,369 85 15 
			 1999 46,141 76 24 60 40 9,572 83 17 
			 2000 42,406 76 24 58 42 9,183 82 18 
			 2001 41,593 75 25 58 42 8,213 82 18 
			 2002 43,648 75 25 60 40 8,570 84 16 
			 2003 41,281 75 25 61 39 8,136 81 19 
			 2004 35,372 75 25 68 32 7,634 83 17 
			  
			  Theft and handling stolen goods 
			 1994 170,901 89 11 70 30 18,129 79 21 
			 1995 159,801 91 9 70 30 17,565 79 21 
			 1996 156,804 92 8 72 28 14,519 79 21 
			 1997 159,085 92 8 73 27 14,049 80 20 
			 1998 164,738 95 5 75 25 10,599 76 24 
			 1999 169,607 96 4 77 23 8,953 74 26 
			 2000 163,966 96 4 77 23 8,117 75 25 
			 2001 163,464 96 4 77 23 7,730 74 26 
			 2002 163,538 96 4 77 23 7,652 78 22 
			 2003 151,725 96 4 78 22 7,611 78 22 
			 2004 134,535 96 4 82 18 7,307 79 21 
			 (1) These data are provided on the principal offence basis (2) Includes defendants discharged and dismissed at magistrates court (3 )Includes defendants acquitted and not tried at crown courts  Source:  RDS—Office for Criminal Justice Reform 
		
	
	
		
			  Number and percentage of cases heard at magistrates courts, crown courts and number found guilty at all courts for theft from shops', burglary and total theft, South East Essex Local Criminal Justice Area 1994-2004( 1, 2) 
			   Magistrates court cases (Percentage)  Crown court cases (Percentage) 
			  Year/Offence  Proceeded against  Heard at magistrates courts  Committed for trial to crown court  Found guilty  Found not guilty( 3)  Total tried  Found guilty Found not guilty(4) 
			  Theft from shops 
			 1994 337 99 1 84 16 10 60 40 
			 1995 334 98 2 83 17 4 100 0 
			 1996 506 97 3 87 13 2 50 50 
			 1997 515 98 2 90 10 8 63 38 
			 1998 481 98 2 88 12 5 80 20 
			 1999 456 99 1 88 12 5 60 40 
			 2000 454 100 0 88 12 1 100 0 
			 2001 427 100 0 91 9 2 100 0 
			 2002 389 98 2 89 11 3 100 0 
			 2003 384 99 1 92 8 0 — — 
			 2004 302 99 1 90 10 0 — — 
			  
			  Burglary 
			 1994 297 85 15 54 46 42 83 17 
			 1995 254 71 29 66 34 42 95 5 
			 1996 370 73 27 59 41 62 92 8 
			 1997 246 62 38 59 41 85 86 14 
			 1998 248 85 15 64 36 33 76 24 
			 1999 211 78 22 65 35 39 82 18 
			 2000 147 83 17 66 34 31 84 16 
			 2001 157 81 19 63 37 26 85 15 
			 2002 130 82 18 61 39 7 71 29 
			 2003 137 77 23 77 23 9 89 11 
			 2004 125 86 14 73 27 5 100 0 
			  
			  Theft and handling stolen goods 
			 1994 894 90 10 70 30 97 65 35 
			 1995 852 92 8 67 33 103 79 21 
			 1996 1,077 93 7 74 26 48 88 13 
			 1997 1,032 93 7 76 24 71 89 11 
			 1998 893 96 4 75 25 38 87 13 
			 1999 896 97 3 77 23 54 76 24 
			 2000 834 96 4 78 22 33 76 24 
			 2001 771 98 2 78 22 23 91 9 
			 2002 655 97 3 78 22 11 100 0 
			 2003 596 97 3 84 16 8 75 25 
			 2004 499 96 4 83 17 4 75 25 
			 (1 )These data are provided on the principal offence basis (2) Includes all cases which originated from courts in South East Essex (3) Includes defendants discharged and dismissed at magistrates courts (4) Includes defendants acquitted and not tried at crown courts  Source:  RDS—Office for Criminal Justice Reform

DNA

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many DNA samples taken by police have subsequently been destroyed following a request to do so from the person from whom the DNA was taken, broken down by police authority area; and what percentage of requests to do so this represents.

Joan Ryan: holding answer 22 May 2006
	During the financial year 2005-06, the total number of subject sample profiles which were removed from the Database and the DNA samples destroyed, for all reasons, and broken down by force area is set out in the following table.
	Samples may be destroyed and the profiles removed from the database for a number of reasons, for example, following notification of the death of the individual, because the sample was taken unlawfully or following a request from the individual for his/her profile to be removed. Information on the number of DNA samples which have been destroyed and the profile removed only as a result of a request to do so from the person from whom the DNA was taken, and the total number of such requests received by the police, is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
	
		
			  Number of subject sample profiles removed from the DNA database in 2005-06 
			  Police force  Number of profiles removed 
			 Avon and Somerset 1 
			 Bedfordshire 2 
			 British Transport Police 3 
			 Cambridgeshire 0 
			 Cheshire 0 
			 City of London Police 0 
			 Cleveland 3 
			 Cumbria 0 
			 Derbyshire 0 
			 Devon and Cornwall 1 
			 Dorset 1 
			 Durham 0 
			 Dyfed-Powys 1 
			 Essex 2 
			 Gloucestershire 1 
			 Greater Manchester Police 3 
			 Gwent 1 
			 Hampshire 3 
			 Hertfordshire 1 
			 Humberside 1 
			 Kent 3 
			 Lancashire 3 
			 Leicestershire 1 
			 Lincolnshire 4 
			 Merseyside 2 
			 Metropolitan Police 42 
			 Norfolk 1 
			 North Wales 0 
			 North Yorkshire 1 
			 Northamptonshire 0 
			 Northumbria 4 
			 Nottinghamshire 3 
			 South Wales 2 
			 South Yorkshire 4 
			 Staffordshire 2 
			 Suffolk 0 
			 Surrey 0 
			 Sussex 0 
			 Thames Valley 0 
			 Warwickshire 0 
			 West Mercia 0 
			 West Midlands 4 
			 West Yorkshire 3 
			 Wiltshire 8 
			 Total 111

Drug-related Crime

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many drug-related crimes per 100,000 population were reported in  (a) Cornwall and  (b) England in the last period for which figures are available.

Vernon Coaker: Routine crime statistics used for monitoring overall crime trends do not contain information on the offender's drug habits. It is therefore not possible to provide a direct estimate of the number of crimes that are drug-related.
	However, acquisitive crimes recorded by the police—to which drug-related crime makes a substantial contribution—fell by 12 per cent. in the year to April 2005 compared to the same period the year before.

Identity Card Register

Anne Snelgrove: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the feasibility of the integration of the proposed Identity Card Register with the IT systems of Government Departments.

Joan Ryan: The Identity and Passport Service continues to work with key Departments to fully map and plan the realisation of potential benefits that the National Identity Scheme will offer for their operations. As part of this work, Departments are assessing where the greatest benefits will arise through the use of the scheme and the consequences for their own systems. Indeed, not all services will require a high degree of integration between the ID Cards Scheme and other IT systems and in a number of cases, any necessary changes will be integrated in the usual planned cycle of system upgrades and technology refresh.
	It is important to note that no Department will gain direct access to the National Identity Register itself. Instead, the Identity Cards Act 2006 provides that accredited Government organisations would be permitted, subject to certain conditions, to request information about an individual from the National Identity Register through a service run by Identity and Passport Service.

Knives

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what research has been conducted on a system of licensing for the possession of knives in public places; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: holding answer 30 March 2006
	We have no plans to introduce a licensing system for knives. It is already an offence to have a knife in public without good reason or lawful authority.

Prisoners Abroad (Release)

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  what criteria the police use in deciding whether to interview newly released prisoners from foreign prisons upon their arrival in the United Kingdom; what legislation governs such decisions; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  how long the police may detain prisoners released from foreign prisons upon their arrival in the United Kingdom; what recent representations he has received about the practice; what discussions he has had with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office about the practice; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: There is no legislation or other requirement for foreign authorities to inform the UK Government when a prisoner is released from a foreign jail. There is an agreement between Consular Directorate (CD) and the Serious and Organised Crime Agency (SOCA), that CD will notify SOCA of the arrest of British nationals abroad for Serious Crimes. When a British consulate overseas is mad aware that a UK national is being deported or released from a foreign jail, details are passed from the consulate to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office who in turn inform SOCA.
	Law enforcement officers will determine if there is an operational need to interview the person on their return to the UK. The returnee is not required to attend such an interview unless the person is subjectto arrest and detention in connection with the investigation of an offence. The results of any interview are forwarded to the police force in whose area the returnee plans to reside. It is an operational matter for the chief officer of the force concerned whether further action should be taken.
	Where the police are aware that an individual has received a conviction or caution for a sexual offence overseas they are advised to apply for a notification order—which will make the returnee subject to part 2 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 (the sex offenders register)—regardless of whether they believe that the person poses a risk of sexual harm or not. This mirrors the way in which sex offender registration automatically applies to offenders convicted or cautioned in the United Kingdom regardless of any risk they pose.

Prisons

Neil Gerrard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  what correspondence he has had with the Prison Officers Association on industrial relations in HM Prison Service in the last 12 months;
	(2)  who the principal point of contact is for correspondence between his Department and its agencies and the Prison Officers Association;
	(3)  how industrial action is defined under paragraph 7 of the Joint Industrial Relations Procedural Agreement with the Prison Officers Association;
	(4)  if he will list occasions since 1994 on which his Department and its agencies have  (a) taken injunctive action and  (b) threatened to take injunctive action against the Prison Officers Association.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The Home Secretary has corresponded on a regular basis with the Prison Officers Association (POA) in response to issues raised by them which affect the management of industrial relations across the Prison Service, including: on pay reform linked to the announcement of the Isle of Sheppey market test; the International Labour Organisation ruling on section 127 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994; Prison Service trade unions and POA industrial action. In addition, the Home Secretary has met the POA either at dedicated meetings or by attendance at joint conferences on six occasions in the last 12 months.
	The principal point of contact for correspondence between the public sector Prison Service and the Prison Officers Association is Phil Wheatley, the director general.
	Industrial action as defined under paragraph 7 of the Joint Industrial Relations Procedural Agreement with the POA is
	"any actions by one or more individuals, which affects, or attempts to affect, the normal working or performance of the Prison Service".
	There have been a total of five occasions where it has been necessary to seek injunctions and a further eight occasions where injunctive relief has been threatened in response to POA actions. Further details are contained in the following table.
	
		
			  Summary of injunctions and threatened injunctive action by the public sector Prison Service in England and Wales on the Prison Officers Association since 1994 
			  Date injunction issued  Date injunctive action threatened  Issue 
			 Two injunctions court hearing November 1994 — 1. Injunction brought against the Preston POA Branch following a lockout 
			  — 2. Injunction against the POA general secretary due to a dispute about whether prison officers were or were not "workers" 
			
			  June 1996 To prevent further unauthorised meetings held by POA branches in protest against staffing and cost reductions 
			
			 November 1998 — To prevent unauthorised POA branch meetings being held to discuss industrial action over pay 
			
			 January 1999 — To prevent unlawful POA branch meetings to discuss industrial action over pay 
			
			  August 2000 To prevent further unauthorised POA branch meetings following decision to market test HMP Brixton and threat of industrial action 
			
			  February 2002 Threat of injunction served on several prisons to prevent withdrawal of goodwill following announcement of pay award 
			
			 February 2002 — Injunction served on the POA National Executive Committee and HMP Holme House due to continued withdrawal of goodwill following announcement of pay award 
			
			  July 2002 HMP Kingston local POA branch threat of industrial action regarding a dispute over demarcation of duties 
			
			  August 2003 HMP Styal threat of industrial action by the local POA branch 
			
			  January 2004 Threat of industrial action on a national scale in protest over dispute about provision of protection allocated to Northern Irish Prison Officers 
			
			  May 2005 Unlawful POA branch meeting at HMYOI Onley over a dispute about the free flow of juveniles within the prison 
			
			  February 2006 Release of POA circular advising POA members not to engage with the PS job evaluation and listen to improve schemes 
			 Total: 5 Total: 8

LEADER OF THE HOUSE

Amendments to Legislation

David Amess: To ask the Leader of the House if he will list the occasions when an amendment has been moved by  (a) a Labour Back Bencher,  (b) an Opposition Back Bencher and (c) an Opposition front bench spokesman to a Bill sponsored by his Department that has been accepted by his Department during the current session; and if he will make a statement.

Jack Straw: The Office of the Leader of the House of Commons has not sponsored any Bills during the current session.

Parliamentary Questions

David Amess: To ask the Leader of the House if he will revise the Government's guidelines for answering parliamentary questions, so that when a Minister replies to an hon. Member's question that the answer could be obtained only at a disproportionate cost,  (a) he will allow hon. Members the option to pay the cost of supplying the information required and  (b) he will set out what it would cost to answer the question (i) fully and (ii) partially; and if he will make a statement.

Jack Straw: I am happy to receive representation on this issue.

September Sittings

Ben Chapman: To ask the Leader of the House pursuant to his oral answer of 9 May 2006,  Official Report, column 168, on September sittings, when he expects to make an announcement regarding the tabling of written parliamentary questions during September.

Jack Straw: As my reply on 9 May indicated, I am exploring ways of introducing increased accountability of the Government to Parliament during the summer adjournment. One possibility would be to resume the practice of September sittings. Failing that it might be possible to introduce a system of allowing the tabling and answering of written questions during a period in September, though this might not now be possible in respect of the current year. The issue remains under consideration within Government.

Small Change Big Difference Campaign

Anne Milton: To ask the Leader of the House what steps his Department has taken following the launch of the Government's "Small Change Big Difference" Campaign.

Jack Straw: The Office of the Leader of the House of Commons comes within the administrative responsibility of the Privy Council Office. No specific steps have yet been taken by the Department following the publication of this document.

CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS

Amendments to Legislation

David Amess: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs if she will list the occasions when an amendment has been moved by  (a) a Labour Back Bencher,  (b) an Opposition Back Bencher and  (c) an Opposition Front Bench spokesman to a Bill sponsored by her Department that has been accepted by her Department during the current session; and if she will make a statement.

Vera Baird: My Department has sponsored The Criminal Defence Service Act, The Electoral Administration Bill and The Compensation Bill during the current session.
	Information on amendments moved and accepted during the Committee and Report Stage of these Bills is published in the  Official Report.

Departmental Expenditure

David Laws: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how much has been spent by her Department on media training in each year since 1997-98.

Vera Baird: The information requested is not held centrally and to obtain it from across the Department for Constitutional Affairs, including all courts and judges, would incur disproportionate costs.

Information Commissioner

Eric Pickles: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what advice the Information Commissioner has provided to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister in each of the last three years.

Bridget Prentice: The Information Commissioner has a general duty under both the Data Protection Act and the Freedom of Information Act to promote the observance of good practice by public authorities and other organisations in compliance with the provisions of both these Acts.
	Guidance and advice is made available by the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) througha variety of means including the ICO website, presentations by ICO staff at conferences and seminars attended by central Government officials, and by way of the ICO telephone helpline. Advice may also be given to Government Departments by the ICO in the context of specific cases as a result of the Information Commissioner considering complaints under the Data Protection Act and complaints under the Freedom of Information Act. There is no central record of allof these possible interactions with individual Departments.

Information Technology

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what the (a) originally estimated,  (b) most recently estimated and  (c) out-turn cost was in each of the five largest information technology contracts agreed with outside suppliers over the last five years.

Bridget Prentice: The Department's five relevant IT contracts are with: Fujitsu Services; STL; Accenture; Cable and Wireless and Oracle.
	 (a) The originally estimated costs of these contracts are:
	Fujitsu Services (magistrates courts IT systems) was tendered in July 2002 for £232 million over 8.5 years;
	STL (magistrates courts IT systems): £38.5 million
	Accenture (magistrates courts IT systems): £36 million
	Cable and Wireless (for web-hosting): £1.5 million
	Oracle—a contract agreement providing licensing for staff to use Oracle software products. Total expenditure since 2003, when the contract was awarded, is £9.7 million.
	 (b) and  (c) all these contracts are ongoing and some will be subject to value for money contract re-negotiation. Therefore out-turn costs do not apply. The current values of each of the contracts are as follows:
	Fujitsu Services: £232 million
	STL: £38.5 million
	Accenture: £36 million
	Cable and Wireless: £2.5 million

Press Coverage

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs on how many occasions since 1 April 2003 she has complained to the Press Complaints Commission about the coverage in the press of  (a) Ministers or officials and  (b) her Department; and how many of these complaints were upheld.

Vera Baird: Neither I nor my ministerial colleagues have made any complaints to the Press Complaints Commission since April 2003.

CABINET OFFICE

Disability Access

David Simpson: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster whether any building in her Department falls short of disability access regulations.

Patrick McFadden: All Cabinet Office buildings, with one exception, are compliant with Disability Access Regulations. The non compliant building is due to be vacated later this year.

E-Government

Margaret Moran: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster which Departments have not implemented the e-Government Interoperability Framework standards; and when each such Department is expected to have done so.

Patrick McFadden: The provisions of the e-Government Interoperability Framework apply to individual information technology systems. Data on which systems have complied with the framework standards are not held centrally. The guidance for conducting an Office of Government Commerce Gateway Review 1 (Business Justification) stipulates that for new IT-related projects there should be evidence of compliance with the Framework.
	It is established policy that Departments only need make their existing systems compliant when updating, enhancing or replacing these systems. Full compliance by an entire Department therefore depends on the eventual replacement or upgrade of all their systems.

National Youth Volunteering Service

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchyof Lancaster how many times the board of the National Youth Volunteering Service has met since it was established.

Edward Miliband: holding answer 12 May 2006
	The new charity v, was launched on 8 May 2006. The board of trustees met informally on 10 April 2006 and holds its first official meeting on 12 June 2006.

National Youth Volunteering Service

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster on what date Rod Aldridge commenced his duties as chairman of the National Youth Volunteering Service; how much he is paid as chairman; and how many days each week he will spend on his duties.

Edward Miliband: holding answer 12 May 2006
	Rod Aldridge commenced his duties as chairman of v on 3 April 2006. The post of chairman is unpaid and is expected to involve a commitment of around two days a month. Since 3 April, the chairman has spent approximately three working days on business for v.

Tatenhill Airfield Planning Application

Janet Dean: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what steps she is taking to ensure effective and timely consultation with local communities on current planning application (CR/20723/010) for the development of Tatenhill airfield.

Hilary Armstrong: The Duchy is committed to the regeneration and extension of Tatenhill airfield.
	The current planning application was made following a public enquiry into the Draft Local Plan for East Staffordshire borough council in 2005 and the subsequent Planning Inspector's Report in spring 2006 which accepted the Duchy's policy.
	No objections to the proposals were submitted during the enquiry and the local authority has agreed to adopt all the recommendations of the inspector within the Local Plan, including those relating to Tatenhill airfield.
	Mr. Clarke, the Chief Executive of the Duchy, has met with the local planning authority and attended the annual general meeting of the Tatenhill parish council to explain what was proposed and answer queries. A public statement outlining the proposal was also issued to the planning authority in a supplementary planning statement, which was circulated to all parish councils in the area.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

China Task Force

Greg Hands: To ask the Deputy Prime Ministerwhat resources are available to him in his role as head of the China Task Force to facilitate discussion in (a) Mandarin and  (b) Cantonese with Chinese interlocutors; and if he will make a statement.

John Prescott: Interpretation services for meetings with the Chinese Government in my role as chair of the China Task Force are provided either by the Chinese Government or by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and British embassy in China.

China Task Force

Greg Hands: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will encourage senior officials supporting the work of the China Task Force to learn  (a) Mandarin and (b) Cantonese.

John Prescott: Interpretation services for my meetings with the Chinese Government in my role as chair of the China Task Force are provided either by the Chinese Government or by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and British embassy in China.
	While it is not part of my specific role as chair of the China Task Force to encourage senior officials to study languages, deepening ties with China in the field of education is a theme of the China Task Force. This includes looking at mechanisms for Chinese students to study in the UK, and British students to study Chinese and visit China. I fully support more British students choosing to study Cantonese and Mandarin. The work of the task force is supported by Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials, many of whom are proficient in languages relevant to the duties I am required to undertake as chair.

Departmental Staff

Derek Conway: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many civil servants are allocated to work in his ministerial private office; whether he was involved in  (a) their appointment and  (b) the allocation of duties to those staff; and if he will make a statement.

John Prescott: I refer the hon. Member to the answers I gave to the hon. Member for Reading, East (Mr. Wilson) and my hon. Friend the Member for South Swindon (Anne Snelgrove) in the House on17 May 2006,  Official Report, columns 979-80.

Dorneywood

Norman Baker: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will make a statement on the use of Dorneywood by his close personal friends.

John Prescott: holding answer 2 May 2006
	Use of Dorneywood is governed by the terms of the charitable trust, established in 1942, which owns the property. All previous residents have been required to abide by the terms of the trust, and I have fully done this. Since Dorneywood is a charitable trust, there is no cost to the public purse.

Ministerial Anniversary

Eric Pickles: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister whether he plans to commemorate his anniversary of 10 years as Deputy Prime Minister.

John Prescott: I fully intend to mark my 10 years as Deputy Prime Minister at the appropriate time.
	In the nine years that I have been Deputy Prime Minister, we have seen over 2 million more jobs created, record investment in our public services, a doubling of the investment in housing, over a million social homes made decent, an increase in the green belt of 26,000 hectares, an increase in the percentage of development on brownfield sites from 57 per cent. in 1997 to 72 per cent. now, the establishment of the right to roam, announcing the establishment of two new national parks, an increase in the UK registered shipping fleet to 12.1 million tonnes in 2004 compared to 3.4 million tonnes in 1997, the successful negotiation of the Kyoto environmental protocol and the achievement of our commitment to reduce UK greenhouse gas emissions to 12.5 per cent. below 1990 levels several years ahead of target, the renegotiation of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link that is now being delivered on time and on budget and the first new major rail line in the UK for over a century, a £180 billion transport investment programme; which has led to large increases in the use of public transport, cleaner drinking water and a reduction in water leakages since 1997, and an increase in funding to local government of 39 per cent. since 1997, compared to a real terms cut of 7 per cent. in the last four years of the previous Administration, to mention but a few of our achievements.
	A lot done, and a lot to do and I look forward to adding to this list between now and the 10th anniversary of holding the office of Deputy Prime Minister.

Parliamentary Questions

Julian Lewis: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister when he will provide a substantive reply to question  (a) 69909 on Dorneywood and  (b) (i) 69910, (ii) 69986 and (iii) 69987 on the exercise of his official duties tabled by the hon. Member for New Forest, East for named day answer on 11 May.

John Prescott: I refer the hon. Member to the answers I gave him on 18 May 2006,  Official Report, columns 1254W and 1256W and to the answers I gave him on Tuesday 23 May.

TREASURY

Average Incomes

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the average income per person in  (a) Cornwall and  (b) the UK.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 24 May 2006:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about average income in Cornwall, and the UK. (72776).
	Figures for average incomes per person for Cornwall and the UK are shown in the table. These were published on 9 May 2006. Gross disposable household income (GDHI) is the amount of money that households have available for consumption expenditure or saving Total household incomes represent the total amount of money households receive before any deductions. Regional GDHI data are available on the National Statistics website at:
	http://www.statistics.gov.uk/StatBase/Product.asp?vlnk=7359.
	The statistics used are national accounts series for the combined household and non-profit institutions serving households sectors. Estimates for households alone are not available.
	
		
			  Average Incomes per Capita( 1) 
			   Gross Disposable Household Income (GDHI) (£)  Total Incomes( 2)  (£) 
			   Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly  United Kingdom  Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly  United Kingdom 
			 1995 7,783 8,602 11,234 12,296 
			 1996 8,191 9,088 11,687 12,866 
			 1997 8,562 9,625 12,088 13,461 
			 1998 8,769 9,938 12,653 14,149 
			 1999 9,101 10,390 13,009 14,820 
			 2000 9,609 10,971 13,798 15,745 
			 2001 10,294 11,643 14,589 16,631 
			 2002 10,637 11,971 15,023 17,120 
			 2003 11,166 12,500 15,744 17,920 
			 2004 11,508 12,840 16,477 18,638 
			 ( 1)  Population denominator is Mid-Year estimate, for total population.( 2)  All household income including employers' social contributions, imputed social contributions, social benefits and other current transfers received. Note: Data are presented for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly combined. These data cannot be disaggregated in to the two constituent areas.

Bills

David Amess: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the occasions when an amendment has been moved by  (a) a Labour backbencher,  (b) an Opposition backbencher and  (c) an Opposition front bench spokesman to a Bill sponsored by his Department, that has been accepted by his Department during the 2005-06 session; and if he will make a statement.

John Healey: Treasury Ministers have introduced the following Bills during the present session:
	National Insurance Contributions Bill;
	Finance Bill;
	Finance (No.2) Bill.
	Information on amendments moved and accepted during the Committee and Report stages on these Bills is published in the  Official Report.

Bonuses

David Simpson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many non-pensionable bonuses were awarded to members of his staff in each of the last three years; and at what total cost.

John Healey: Information on the number of non-pensionable bonuses to Treasury staff in the last three years is given in the following table:
	
		
			   Number of bonuses  Total cost (£) 
			 2005-06 603 1,090,544 
			 2004-05 680 915,463 
			 2003-04 635 784,958

Chinese Currency

Stephen Hesford: To ask The Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the implications for British trade of China allowing its currency to appreciate against the US dollar.

John Healey: The exchange rate is determined in a fully flexible setting for foreign exchange and it is therefore difficult to determine the exact implications of an appreciation of the Chinese renminbi against the US dollar for British trade. An appreciation of the Chinese renminbi against the US dollar could result in an appreciation, depreciation or no change against UK sterling. However, the sterling effective exchange rate has been relatively stable in recent years. Since the introduction of the euro in 1999, the volatility of sterling's effective exchange rate has been under half that of the euro and around a third that of the US dollar. At the same time, UK exports, including exports to China, continue to grow. UK exports have grown on average 4.4 per cent. per year from 1997 to 2005.

Departmental Legislation

David Amess: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list  (a) Acts and  (b) parts of Acts which received Royal Assent between 1976 and 2006 for which his Department has policy responsibility and which remain in force.

John Healey: The Acts that received Royal Assent between 1976 and 2006 for which Treasury Ministers have policy responsibility for the whole or a part, in addition to annual Finance, Appropriation and Consolidated Fund Acts, are listed as follows.
	 1. In relation to the functions of Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (other than administration functions in respect of a matter for which another Department has lead policy responsibility)
	National Insurance Contributions Act 2006
	Child Benefit Act 2005
	Commissioners for Revenue and Customs Act 2005
	Income Tax (Trading and Other Income) Act 2005
	Child Trust Funds Act 2004
	National Insurance Contributions and Statutory Payments Act 2004
	Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003
	National Insurance Contributions Act 2002
	Proceeds of Crime Act 2002
	State Pension Credit Act 2002
	Tax Credits Act 2002
	Capital Allowances Act 2001
	Social Security Contributions (Share Options) Act 2001
	Child Support, Pensions and Social Security Act 2000
	Social Security Contributions (Transfer of Functions, etc.) Act 1999
	Welfare Reform and Pensions Act 1999
	Social Security Act 1998
	Drug Trafficking Act 1994
	Social Security (Contributions) Act 1994
	Value Added Tax Act 1994
	Vehicle Excise Registration Act 1994
	Social Security Act 1993
	Social Security Administration Act 1992
	Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992
	Taxation of Chargeable Gains Act 1992
	Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1988
	Inheritance Act 1984
	Oil Taxation Act 1983
	Betting and Gaming Duties Act 1981
	Petroleum Revenue Tax Act 1980
	Alcoholic Liquor Duties Act 1979
	Customs and Excise Duties (General Reliefs) Act 1979
	Customs and Excise Management Act 1979
	Excise Duties (Surcharges or Rebates) Act 1979
	Hydrocarbon Oil Duties Act 1979
	Isle of Man Act 1979
	Tobacco Products Duty Act 1979
	Endangered Species (Import and Export) Act 1976
	 2. In relation to Financial Services Regulation and Financial Crime
	Regulation of Financial Services (Land Transactions) Act 2005
	Industrial and Provident Societies Act 2002
	Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001
	Financial Services and Markets Act 2000
	Building Societies (Distributions) Act 1997
	Building Societies Act 1997
	Reinsurance (Acts of Terrorism) Act 1993
	Friendly Societies Act 1992
	Building Societies Act 1986
	Financial Services Act 1986
	Trustee Savings Banks Act 1985
	Friendly Societies Act 1984
	Stock Transfer Act 1982
	Banking Act 1979
	 3. In relation to the Public Finances
	European Communities (Finance) Act 2001
	Government Resources and Accounts Act 2000
	National Audit Act 1983
	 4. In relation to Macro-economic policy and International Finance
	Bank of England Act 1998
	Currency Act 1983
	International Monetary Arrangements Act 1983
	Currency Act 1982
	Exchange Equalisation Account Act 1979
	International Monetary Fund Act 1979

Departmental Staff

David Simpson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many promotion boards have been held in his Department in each of the last five years.

John Healey: The Treasury has not operated promotion boards for the last five years. Most vacancies are open to applicants on promotion as well as level transfer.

Disability Access

David Simpson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether any buildings in his Department do not meet disability access regulations.

John Healey: The building the Treasury occupies at1 Horse Guards Road complies with the Disability Access Regulations.

EU Finance

Peter Bone: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how the UK's  (a) rebate from and  (b) gross contribution to the European Union is calculated; and how the formula was used to arrive at the latest available year's figure in each case.

Edward Balls: Details of the UK abatement calculation are given on page 30 of the European Community Finances White Paper (Cm 6770) which was laid before Parliament earlier today. The UK's gross contribution is determined in accordance with the Own Resources Decision (ORD) (Council Decision 2000/597/EC, EURATOM of 29 September 2000), details of which can be found on page 7 of Cm 6770. The ORD lays down the four sources of Community revenue, or own resources, details of which are given on page 31 of Cm 6770. The UK's annual contribution to the EC Budget, i.e. the gross contribution minus the UK abatement, is calculated in accordance with these arrangements.

GDP Statistics

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the gross domestic product per capita of  (a) Cornwall,  (b) the UK and  (c) the EU is; and what the current European average is.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 24 May 2006:
	As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita estimates for Cornwall, UK, and EU (72774).
	The ONS publishes estimates of Gross Value Added (GVA) rather than GDP at a regional level. The two measures are broadly similar, though direct comparisons are not possible.
	The table contains estimates of GVA per capita for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly and to UK as well as GDP per capita for the UK, EU15 and EU25. Data are shown for the period 1995-2003.
	
		
			  Gross Value Added/Gross Domestic Product per capita( 1 2) 
			  Gross Value Added(3) Gross Domestic Product 
			   Cornwall and Isles of Scilly( 4) (£)  United Kingdom (£)  United Kingdom(£)  EU15( 3)  (€)  EU25( 5 ) (€) 
			 1995 6,724 11,015 12,379 18,000 15,500 
			 1996 7,275 11,699 13,127 18,900 16,300 
			 1997 7,432 12,347 13,900 19,800 17,200 
			 1998 7,749 13,056 14,716 20,700 17,900 
			 1999 8,018 13,622 15,429 21,700 18,800 
			 2000 8,534 14,290 16,194 23,100 20,100 
			 2001 9,164 14,944 16,862 23,800 20,800 
			 2002 9,971 15,691 17,674 24,500 21,500 
			 2003 10,518 16,485 18,570 24,800 21,700 
			 (1) Population denominator is Mid-Year estimates for total population. (2) Cornwall and UK data in £ stg. EU15 and EU25 data in Euro. (3) Gross Value Added (GVA) is Gross Domestic Product (GDP) less taxes (plus subsidies) on products. These data are current price estimates which are not adjusted for changes in prices over time. (4) Data are presented for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly combined. These data cannot be disaggregated in to the two constituent areas. (5) Gross Domestic Product per head as published by Eurostat.

HM Revenue and Customs

Stephen Crabb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the value of subsistence claims made by staff of HM Revenue and Customs working away from home was in 2005-06; and what proportion of claims did not include receipts.

Dawn Primarolo: In 2005-06 it is estimated thatHM Revenue and Customs paid out £9,299,575on staff subsistence claims, excluding travel and accommodation costs.
	As the submission of receipts with claims is not mandatory within HMRC, payment verification is on a sample basis.

HM Revenue and Customs

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the average waiting time for callers to the HM Revenue and Customs tax return phone helpline was in each of the last 24 months for which figures are available; on how many occasions in each month no lines were available to callers; and how many call staff were available in each month.

Dawn Primarolo: The following table shows the average waiting time for callers to the self-assessment helpline, and also the number of calls receiving an engaged tone since May 2004.
	
		
			   Month  Average wait  Engaged( 1)  (thousands) 
			 2004 May 0:01:28 205 
			  June 0:01:18 172 
			  July 0:01:14 128 
			  August 0:01:23 43 
			  September 0:01:41 339 
			  October 0:00:44 37 
			  November 0:00:33 6 
			  December 0:00:35 24 
			  January 0:00:46 299 
			  February 0:00:50 8 
			  March 0:00:58 8 
			 2005 April 0:01:36 18 
			  May 0:01:55 44 
			  June 0:01:40 21 
			  July 0:01:19 25 
			  August 0:02:37 39 
			  September 0:02:52 176 
			  October 0:00:37 2 
			  November 0:00:21 1 
			  December 0:00:20 5 
			  January 0:01:10 367 
			  February 0:00:36 5 
			  March 0:01:10 28 
			  April 0:01:22 10 
			 (1) Call attempts where the caller was played an engaged tone, before they were placed in a queue to speak to an adviser. 
		
	
	Helpline advisers are not allocated exclusively to the self-assessment helpline and it would only be possible to disaggregate resource allocated to this helpline from other types of call at disproportionate cost.,

Improving Migration Population Statistics Programme

Adam Afriyie: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer on how many occasions the Office for National Statistics has met the four participating local authorities in the Improving Migration Population Statistics programme; and what the outcome was of those meetings.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Colin Mowl, dated 24 May 2006:
	The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking on how many occasions the Office for National Statistics has met the four participating local authorities in the Improving Motion and Population Statistics: (DS) project, and what was the outcome of those meetings. I am replying in her absence. (72952)
	The Office for National Statistics (ONS) is currently working in partnership with four Local Authorities (LAs) to investigate whether there are local data sources that could be used to assist the compilation of the nationally produced population estimates. The four LAs are Barnet Derby Hammersmith & Fulham and Welwyn Hatfield. These authorities were selected from four groupings of LAs which each scored highly on different characteristics associated with difficulties in estimating population accurately.
	Initial meetings were held with the four selected LAs in December 2005 and January 2006. At these meetings each of the LAs agreed to work with ONS to gain a better understanding of how they use the population estimates, what other local information and data sources they use, what particular issues affect population estimates within their LA and what methods and local data sources they use to overcome these issues.
	A further round of meetings is currently underway to review progress and a final round of meetings will be held at the end of the studies in summer 2006. ONS will review the findings to see if any improvements can be applied to the mid-year population estimates processes or quality assurance procedures, either for all LAs or for groups of LAs. ONS will publish the outcome of the studies and evaluate their success, including a review of the criteria and approach for selecting LAs.

Improving Migration Population Statistics Programme

Adam Afriyie: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when the Treasury expects to receive the findings of the Office for National Statistics Improving Migration Population Statistics Programme.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Jil Matheson, dated 24 May 2006:
	The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking when the Treasury expects to receive the findings of the Office for National Statistics Improving Migration and Population Statistics (IMPS) project. I am replying in her absence. (72953)
	The IMPS project was set up following the publication of the full report on the Local Authority population studies in September 2004. The aim is to investigate where it is possible to introduce changes to the data sources and methods that will improve the quality of the migration and population statistics.
	A list of published reports and those due to be published shortly, is attached in the Annex to this letter. The report planned for August 2006, at the same time as the release of the mid-2005 population estimates for England & Wales, will provide a summary of the research plan and progress to date. Further reports will be issued as results emerge and plans for implementing changes to reflect these results, will be published on the National Statistics website. There will be a final report in March 2008, which is when the project is currently due to be completed.
	 Annex A
	 Publication of reports
	Progress Report of the National Statistics Quality Review on International Migration: http://www.statistics.gov.uk/about/data/methodology/quality/reviews/downloads/Progress.doc
	The progress reports from this component of the IMPS project are planned to be updated six-monthly.
	Announcement of the LAs selected for case study
	http://www.statistics.gov.uk/about/data/methodology/specific/population/future/imps/updates/default.asp
	This document is available together with a note about the selection methodology and feedback from the LA workshop held in November 2005
	Update on the work on population definitions - report of the discussions at the Population Definition Working Group, a group of Local Authority, central government and academic demographic experts.
	http://www.statistics.gov.uk/about/data/methodology/specific/population/future/imps/components/improvements.asp
	Population bases and statistical provision: towards a more flexible future? (To appear in Population Trends on 29 June 2006).
	Issues of Population Trends can be accessed at:
	http://statistics.gov.uk/statbase/Product.asp?vlnk=6303
	This article will present an analysis of the research and consultation into alternative population bases and discusses the options for moving towards more flexible output bases.
	An article is due to appear in a forthcoming issue of Population Trends presenting the research into administrative data on housing and the insights that affords into the relationship between housing and population change.
	A further article, which reviews international experience of the Cohort Component method, is due to appear in a forthcoming issue of Population Trends. This method is the main one used by Census taking countries to produce population estimates during the intercensal period.
	IMPS Research Plan and Progress Report, 2006. Due to be published in August 2006.

Inheritance Tax

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent representations he hasreceived regarding the inheritance tax treatment of accumulation and maintenance trusts and interest in possession trusts.

Dawn Primarolo: I refer the hon. Gentleman tothe answer I gave on 16 May 2006,  Official Report,column 831W.

Migrants

Adam Afriyie: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the breakdown by  (a) local authority area and  (b) nationality of migrants was allocated by the Office for National Statistics to mid-year estimates in each year from 1991 to 2004.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Jil Matheson, dated 24 May 2006:
	The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question about what breakdown by (a) local authority area and (b) nationality of migrants was allocated by the Office for National Statistics to mid-year estimates in each year from 1991 to 2004.1 am replying in her absence. (72951)
	I am placing a table in the House of Commons Library, which gives a breakdown of the migration component of the mid-year estimates by local authority for mid-2000 to mid-2004. Figures for the migration component are not available separately for the earlier years requested. Published tables for earlier years showing 'Natural Change' and 'Migration and other changes' are available on the National Statistics website:
	http://www.statistics.gov.uk/statbase/ssdataset.asp?vlnk=8615 &More=Y
	The migration estimates used in the mid-year estimates are not disaggregated by nationality.
	The components of the mid-year estimates are estimated in as robust a manner as possible given available data sources. The total international migration figures shown in this table are produced for the express purpose of producing the mid-year estimates. Figures for the internal migration in the table may also differ slightly from those published elsewhere due to rounding and constraining effects.

Ministerial Activities

Sarah Teather: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many  (a) public speeches and  (b) official visits (i) he and (ii) the Chief Secretary to the Treasury has made on departmental business since5 May 2005.

John Healey: Speeches by Treasury Ministers are available on the Treasury's website. Since 5 May 2005 both the Chancellor and successive Chief Secretaries have made a number of visits to the regions and nations of the United Kingdom and will be continuing to do so over the coming months.

Ministerial Activities

Sarah Teather: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many letters  (a) he and  (b) the Chief Secretary to the Treasury has sent on departmental business since 5 May 2005.

John Healey: The Chancellor and the Chief Secretary both send many hundreds of letters each year in the course of their official duties.

Ministerial Travel

Brooks Newmark: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the use by Ministers of aircraft from 32 (The Royal) Squadron of the RAF to travel on  (a) private and  (b) party business is treated as a benefit in kind for tax purposes.

John Healey: The tax treatment of travel and subsistence for the Speaker, Ministers and Opposition office-holders is covered by specific provisions in s295 of ITEPA, introduced in 1996.

Ministerial Visits (Accommodation)

David Simpson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  on how many occasions  (a) civil servants and  (b) special advisers in his Department have stayed overnight in (i) five star, (ii) four star and (iii) three star hotels in each of the last three years;
	(2)  what the total cost was of overnight accommodation for  (a) civil servants and  (b) special advisers in his Department staying overnight in (i) mainland Great Britain, (ii) Northern Ireland, (iii) the Republic of Ireland and (iv) other countries in each of the last three years;
	(3)  what the total cost was of overnight accommodation for Treasury Ministers on foreign visits in each of the last three years;
	(4)  on how many occasions Treasury Ministers stayed overnight in  (a) five star,  (b) four star and (c) three star hotels on foreign visits in each of the last three years;
	(5)  what discounts are available in relation to hotel accommodation used by  (a) civil servants and (b) special advisers in his private office.

John Healey: In relation to the total costsof Ministers' and special advisers' overnight accommodation costs, I refer to the answer given to my hon. Friend the Member for Leicester, East (Keith Vaz) on 16 March 2006,  Official Report, column 2411W. The total cost of subsistence for the Treasury in the last three financial years was as follows. The figures include Ministers, special advisers and civil servants, and meals as well as overnight accommodation costs.
	
		
			  £000 
			   2003-04  2004-05  2005-06 
			 Subsistence in the UK 85 78 72 
			 Subsistence overseas 237 272 323 
		
	
	Further details, including analysis of costs by destination and by class of hotel, could be provided only at disproportionate cost. All travel is undertaken in accordance with the rules set out in the "Ministerial Code", the "Civil Service Management Code" and the "Code of Conduct for Special Advisers", which include requirements for travel arrangements to be efficient and cost-effective.
	Our hotel providers use their purchasing power to negotiate better rates and room allocations for their Government clients. These arrangements are available to all staff, both civil servants and special advisers.

Parliamentary Questions

Anne Main: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 15 February 2006,  Official Report, column 2163W, on written parliamentary questions, how many written questions have been submitted to his Department in each year since 1997; and how many questions each Minister in his Department has answered.

John Healey: As the former Economic Secretary said in his earlier reply, written answers are usually given by the Minister with named responsibility for the issue concerned.
	The information requested in respect of each complete parliamentary Session since 1997-98 is given in the table:
	
		
			  Minister  1997-98  1998-99  1999-2000  2000-01  2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05 
			 Chancellor 224 42 17 10 40 17 13 14 
			 Chief Secretary 368 125 271 152 921 628 298 94 
			 Paymaster General 258 671 1,054 510 1,453 1,082 896 486 
			 Financial Secretary 1,517 191 448 145 1,716 1,247 1,480 797 
			 Economic Secretary 1,611 1,055 1,037 471 1,785 976 651 111 
			 Total 3,978 2,084 2,827 1,288 5,915 3,950 3,338 1,502

Pensions

Peter Bone: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the change in levels of taxation required to meet the cost of implementing the recommendations set out in the Ombudsman's report Trusting in the Pensions Promise.

James Purnell: I have been asked to reply.
	No such estimate has been made.

Pensions

David Simpson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many and what percentage of staff in his Department are making additional voluntary contributions to their pension.

John Healey: On 1 April 2006, 20 Treasury staff were paying into additional voluntary contributions and 43 were paying into added years. The 63 people concerned represented 5.7 per cent. of the staff of the Treasury.

Population Statistics (Hartlepool)

Iain Wright: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  how many single parent households with children under the age of 16 years there were in the Hartlepool constituency in each of the last 15 years;
	(2)  how many single-person households there were in the Hartlepool constituency in each of the last 15 years;
	(3)  what estimate he has made of the number of cohabiting couples living in Hartlepool constituency in each of the past 15 years.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 24 May 2006:
	As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your requests for the following figures for the Hartlepool constituency: the number of single parent households with children under 16 years of age in the past 15 years; the number of single person households since 1990; and, the number of cohabiting couples in the past 15 years. (72598, 72599 and 72603)
	Estimates of these figures are not produced on an annual basis for local areas. Available figures are from the censuses of 1991 and 2001. These are shown in the table below.
	
		
			  Numbers of lone parent households with dependent children aged under 16( 1)  one person households( 2)  and cohabiting couples in households( 3) : Hartlepool, 1991 and 2001 
			   1991  2001 
			 1. Lone parent households with dependent children aged under 16 1,793 2,992 
			 2. One person households 9,172 11,413 
			 3. Number of couples in households: Cohabiting (4)788 3,273 
			 (1 )Source: 1991 Census Local Base Statistics Table 32 and 2001 Census data. (2) Source: Table F in the Census 1991 New Parliamentary Constituency Monitor North East and Table KS20 in the Census 2001 Report for Parliamentary Constituencies. (3) Source: 1991 and 2001 Census data. (4) In 1991 responses to relationship questions were only processed for approximately 10 per cent. of the population. The figures in this table have been grossed up by a factor of 10.16 to account for this.

Population Statistics (Hartlepool)

Iain Wright: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many marriages took place in the Hartlepool constituency in each year since 1990.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 24 May 2006:
	As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking for the number of marriages that have taken place in the Hartlepool constituency since 1990. (72600)
	The table below shows the number of marriages that took place in the Hartlepool Registration District from 1990 to 2003, the latest year available. It should be noted that place of marriage does not necessarily denote place of last, current or future residence.
	
		
			  Marriages in Hartlepool( 1)  Registration District 1990-2003 
			   Marriages 
			 1990 633 
			 1991 509 
			 1992 547 
			 1993 524 
			 1994 486 
			 1995 447 
			 1996 463 
			 1997 409 
			 1998 409 
			 1999 430 
			 2000 418 
			 2001 411 
			 2002 365 
			 2003 386 
			 (1 )Known as North Cleveland Registration District until 1995

Population Statistics (Hartlepool)

Iain Wright: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many divorces took place in the Hartlepool constituency in each year since 1990.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 24 May 2006:
	As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking for the number of divorces that have taken place in the Hartlepool constituency since 1990. (72601)
	The number of divorces that took place at the Court Service in Hartlepool is shown from 1992 to 2003, the latest year available, in the table below. Data is not readily available for 1990 and 1991. It should be noted that place of divorce does not necessarily denote place of last, current or future residence.
	
		
			  Divorces at Hartlepool Court 1992-2003 
			   Divorces 
			 1992 610 
			 1993 536 
			 1994 530 
			 1995 545 
			 1996 477 
			 1997 425 
			 1998 459 
			 1999 446 
			 2000 387 
			 2001 412 
			 2002 379 
			 2003 493

Private Members' Bills

David Amess: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list those private Member'' Bills in respect of which his Department has adopted a policy of neutrality in each session since 2001-02; and if he will make a statement.

John Healey: The information is not readily available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Private Office Costs

Sarah Teather: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the cost was of  (a) his and  (b) the Chief Secretary to the Treasury's private offices in the last year for which figures are available.

John Healey: The costs of the offices of the Chancellor and the Chief Secretary in 2004-05 were £1,248,802 and £513,866, respectively.

Sovereign Strategy

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer on what dates over the last 12 months  (a) he and  (b) (i) Ministers and (ii) officials in his Department met a representative of Sovereign Strategy.

John Healey: I am advised that Treasury Ministers and officials have not met with Sovereign Strategy over the last 12 months.

Tax Credits

Richard Spring: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people living in West Suffolk received overpayments of  (a) child tax credit and  (b) working tax credit in each of the last five years.

Jim Sheridan: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many families in Paisley and Renfrewshire North received overpayment of  (a) working tax credit and  (b) child tax credit in 2005.

Dawn Primarolo: Child and Working Tax Credits were only introduced in April 2003.
	I refer the hon. Member and my hon. Friend to the answer given to the hon. Member for Mid-Bedfordshire (Mrs. Dorries) on 10 October 2005,  Official Report, column 322W.
	Estimates for 2004-05 of the numbers of in-work families with tax credits awards, including information on overpayments and underpayments by constituency, based on final family circumstances and incomes for 2004-05 are due to be published on 31 May 2006.
	We do not produce statistics separately for child and working tax credits.

Tax Revenues

Matthew Taylor: To ask The Chancellor of the Exchequer how much the Government raised in tax revenues from Cornwall in each of the last five years.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 24 May 2006
	As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the amount of tax revenue raised in Cornwall per annum. (72721)
	The ONS publishes regional estimates of Gross Disposable Household Income (GDHI) which include data for taxes on incomes and wealth paid by households. Regional estimates for expenditure based taxes and duties, for example VAT, are not available. Taxes paid by corporations are also unavailable on a regional basis.
	Table A contains estimates of household taxes paid by residents of Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly from 1995 to 2004.
	
		
			  Table A: Taxes generated per annum 
			  £ million( 1, 2) 
			   Cornwall and Isles of Scilly( 3) 
			 1995 510 
			 1996 507 
			 1997 508 
			 1998 581 
			 1999 613 
			 2000 659 
			 2001 700 
			 2002 712 
			 2003 735 
			 2004 803 
			 (1 )These data are at current prices. They are not deflated to account for increases in prices over time. Regional data are not available on a constant price (deflated) basis. (2) These estimates are taken from the most recent release of regional GDHI data, published on May 9 2006. (3) Data are presented for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly combined. These data cannot be disaggregated in the two constituent areas.

Tax Revenues

David Mundell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he plans to change the system by which HM Revenue and Customs measures actual tax revenue receipts from the nations and regions of the United Kingdom.

Dawn Primarolo: There are no plans to change the system by which HM Revenue and Customs measures actual tax revenue receipts from the nations and regions of the United Kingdom.
	Systems for recording HMRC tax revenue receipts are dependent on the administrative arrangement for the various taxes. For example, some taxes are collected from businesses although the liabilities are borne by individuals (e.g. PAYE) and the location of the office making the payment may not be the same as the physical location of the business. One PAYE payment scheme can cover units located throughout the country.
	Geographical information is therefore only routinely available for income tax in terms of the liabilities of individuals based on their tax records which include addresses.
	Although HMRC hold information on registered company addresses, companies normally operate in many locations and it is not possible to split each company's tax liability between their activity in different geographical areas. Furthermore, corporation tax is charged on total profits of a company, including income received from abroad, and a company may surrender tax losses to another company in the same group anywhere in the United Kingdom.

Valuation Office Agency

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the  (a) location and  (b) cost was of each publicly funded foreign visit that Mr. Paul Sanderson, Director of Data Strategy at the Valuation Office Agency, has undertaken since May 1997.

Dawn Primarolo: The VOA's records are not maintained in such a way as to enable detailed information relating to particular visits to be extracted. All overseas travel on official business is undertaken in accordance with the Civil Service Code.

VAT Registration

David Gauke: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the adequacy of staff resources in HM Revenue and Customs to process VAT registration applications.

Dawn Primarolo: HM Revenue and Customs regularly review their staffing requirements at their registration centres, as well as developing new working practices to improve productive capacity and the quality of service they provide to the public.

VAT Registration

David Gauke: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many complaints  (a) he and  (b) HM Revenue and Customs have received about the time taken to process VAT registration applications since 1 March 2006.

Dawn Primarolo: HM Revenue and Customs estimate that around 170 complaints about the time taken to process VAT registration applications were received between 1 March 2006 and 19 May 2006.

VAT Registration

David Gauke: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what target HM Revenue and Customs have set for the time taken to process VAT registration applications.

Dawn Primarolo: Revenue and Customs aim to process complete and accurate registration applications within 21 days following receipt, although in cases where the application is incomplete and additional information is required, processing times can be longer.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Bangladesh

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if she will make representations to the Government of Bangladesh on its treatment of religious minorities; and whether she is monitoring the performance of Jamaat-e-Islami (JEI) and Isalmi Oikya Jote (IDJ) within the Government of Bangladesh.

Kim Howells: The persecution of religious and ethnic minorities including the Ahmadiyyas, Hindus, Christians and indigenous groups is a serious issue in Bangladesh. Our High Commission in Dhaka is actively engaged in promoting human rights in Bangladesh, raises human rights issues with the Government of Bangladesh on a regular basis, and provides funding to non-governmental organisations for human rights programmes. We take all available opportunities to underline the UK's commitment to support human rights in Bangladesh during discussions with senior Government representatives, human rights campaigners and representatives of religious and ethnic minorities, and will continue to do so. During a visit to Bangladesh in November 2005, I underlined the UK's commitment to support human rights in Bangladesh during discussions with senior Government representatives, human rights campaigners and representatives of religious and ethnic minorities. We shall continue to seek out opportunities to raise our concerns.
	We take a close a close interest in Jamaat-e-Islami and Islami Oikya Jote and maintain a constructive dialogue with them and all other Bangladeshi parties that participate in the democratic process. We continue to urge the Government and the opposition to engage in constructive dialogue on the key steps to ensure a level playing field, and free and fair and peaceful elections in January 2007 with full participation. We believe that a healthy democracy, improved human rights and a reduction in corruption offer the best route to combating extremism in Bangladesh.

Bangladesh

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if she will make representations to the Government of Bangladesh on meeting its obligations under the Chittagong Hill Tracts Peace Accord.

Kim Howells: A team of EU diplomats visited the Chittagong Hill Tracts in November 2005. Our High Commission in Dhaka led the visit as EU presidency. The team's broad conclusion on this specific subject was that the Land Disputes Resolution Commission was not operating at a level necessary to facilitate effective implementation of the Chittagong Hill Tracts Peace Accord. Problems included the complex procedures for lodging claims. The team found that the Commission was not receiving many cases for adjudication and of these few were being concluded. Local confidence in the Commission was low.
	Following the team's visit, the British High Commissioner in Dhaka, as EU presidency, wrote to the Government of Bangladesh on citing the urgent need to improve implementation of the Peace Accord, including the operation of the Land Disputes Resolution Commission. The subject of the Peace Accord was subsequently raised during an EU troika visit at the start of 2006 and at the recent EC-Bangladesh Joint Commission
	A member of the British High Commission in Dhaka has just returned from a visit to the Chittagong Hill Tracts. I have asked officials to inform my hon. Friend separately of the findings of that visit.

British Passport Holders

Douglas Carswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many British passport holders she estimates live overseas; and if she will list the 10 countries where most British overseas passport holders live.

Kim Howells: We estimate that the number of British passport holders who live overseas is approximately4.5 million. This is based on the fact that we issue approximately 450,000 passports each year through our 104 issuing posts and, as a passport lasts for 10 years, we have multiplied this figure by 10 to arrive at our estimate. This figure is different from our estimate that there are approximately 13.1 million British Nationals (BNs) living overseas, based on estimates from each country received in our Consular Annual Return. The difference, 8.6 million, is the number of BNs who we estimate do not hold a British passport.
	The top 10 issuing posts are in the following countries:
	
		
			  Country  2004-05 passports issued 
			 Hong Kong 79,881 
			 Australia 61,549 
			 USA 52,746 
			 Canada 23,263 
			 New Zealand 21,590 
			 France 20,624 
			 Spain 19,500 
			 Germany 18,145 
			 South Africa 17,464 
			 Ireland 10,893

Charles Munyaneza

Andrew Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 6 February 2006,  Official Report, column 769W, on Charles Munyaneza, what progress has been made in the investigation of allegations against Mr. Munyaneza.

Kim Howells: Officials from the Home Office Immigration and Nationality Directorate War Crimes Unit are investigating the allegations against Mr. Munyaneza. Once the facts are fully established, consideration will be given to the appropriate course of action. We would not wish anyone suspected of genocide in Rwanda to enjoy impunity in the UK.

China

Greg Pope: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much the Government have allocated for a British pavilion at the Shanghai Expo 2010; and from what budgets such funding will come.

Kim Howells: We are considering the Chinese Government's formal invitation to participate in the Shanghai Expo 2010. As part of that process we are looking at how UK participation might be funded and we are discussing this with a wide range of possible stakeholders including Government Departments, other parts of the public sector, and many private sector companies.

China

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what response the UK Government have made to the Chinese government's undertaking to the UN Human Rights Council; how the proposals made are to be monitored; what the timescale is for their implementation; what assessment she has made of the likely impact of their implementation on Tibetans; and if she will make a statement.

Kim Howells: China made voluntary pledges on human rights prior to its election to the UN Human Rights Council (HRC). The HRC is mandated within one year of its first session to set up a system of 'universal periodic review' to assess the fulfilment by each state of its human rights obligations and commitments. The detail of this system of review is not yet determined. However, the Government will expect every member of the HRC, including China, to act fully in accordance with the high standards set by the UN General Assembly resolution which established the HRC, and to take very seriously the responsibility that they will have for the promotion and protection of human rights worldwide. We will continue to look for appropriate opportunities to raise our concerns about human rights abuses in China and Tibet with the Chinese authorities.

China

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether the Government has made representations to the Chinese government to disclose the whereabouts of Gendun Choekyi Nyima; and if she will make a statement.

Kim Howells: The Government last raised the case of Gedhun Choekyi Nyima at the last rounds of the UK- and EU-China Dialogues in June 2005 and October 2005. We requested that the Chinese authorities allow a private visit to him by an agreed international observer, and provide information on his religious instruction. Officials from our Embassy in Beijing, on a visit to Tibet with the Foreign Affairs Committee in May 2006, requested information on the whereabouts of Gedhun Choekyi Nyima from the Tibetan Autonomous Region local government. We will continue to raise this case in future contacts with the Chinese government.

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what her most recent assessment is of  (a) the situation and  (b) stability in the Democratic Republic of the Congo; and if she will make a statement.

Kim Howells: The security situation remains fragile in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Civilians continue to suffer abuses by armed groups, including ill disciplined elements within the Congolese army (FARDC).
	The UN peacekeeping mission (MONUC) continues to conduct operations to disarm militias and to disrupt the activities of foreign armed groups. We commend the combined efforts of MONUC and the FARDC which resulted in the detention of two prominent militia leaders, Kyunga Matanga and Innocent Kahina, in the last week. We continue to urge regional governments to work together to disarm these groups.
	The DRC peace process remains a UK priority and we are committed to promoting forthcoming democratic elections and encouraging the new government to take an inclusive and representative approach.

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans she has to visit the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Kim Howells: Foreign engagements for my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary and other Ministers are kept under constant review. It is not our practice to announce such visits until they are firm. Because of the unpredictable nature of world events, final decisions on overseas visits are often not possible until very shortly before the day of travel.

Departmental Staff

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on what date Mr Mockbul Ali  (a) left the Department in 2005 and  (b) was re-appointed to her Department; and in what capacity he was re-employed.

Kim Howells: It is not Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) policy to comment publicly on individual members of staff. Appointments to the FCO are made in accordance with the Civil Service Commissioners' Recruitment Code. Information on the code canbe found at the following website: www.civilservicecommissioners.gov.uk.

EU Finance

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the value was of each of the fortnightly transfer payments made into the budgets of the institutions of the European Union in 2005.

Edward Balls: I have been asked to reply.
	The figure for the UK's gross contribution, after taking account of the abatement, to the EC Budget in 2005 is shown in Table 3 (page 46) of the "European Community Finances" White Paper which was laid before Parliament earlier today (Cm 6770). The individual payments which the UK made twice per month to the EC Budget in 2005 sum to this figure.

EU-Morocco Agreement

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what her voting intentions are at the European Council on the EU-Morocco Agreement; what assessment she has made of the  (a) wishes of the Saharawi people and (b) the financial benefits to the Moroccan Army relating to the agreement; and if she will make a statement.

Kim Howells: The UK will vote in favour of the EU-Morocco Fisheries Partnership Agreement.
	I refer the hon. Member to the replies given to him by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs(Mr. Bradshaw) on 2 May 2006,  Official Report, column 1315W, and 4 May 2006,  Official Report, column 1731W.

European Entitlement Card

Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether it is her Department's policy to support the introduction of a European entitlement card.

Geoff Hoon: There are at present no proposals before Council for the introduction of a European entitlement card.

European Union

Peter Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if she will list policy areas in which the Government are involved in discussions about  (a) the extension of European Union competences and  (b) the removal of the UK's veto.

Geoff Hoon: There are no discussions of formal proposals under way about the extension of EU competencies or the removal of the UK's veto.

Information Technology

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the  (a) originally estimated,  (b) most recently estimated and  (c) outturn cost was in each of the five largest information technology contracts agreed with outside suppliers over the last five years.

Geoff Hoon: The information requested is provided in the table.
	
		
			  £ million 
			  Contract  Original estimate  Most recent estimate  Outturn 
			 Future Firecrest—Hewlett Packard 183.5 187.5 (1,2)21 .3 
			 Prism—Cap Gemini Ernst and Young 53.1 78 (1,2)58.4 
			 Focus—Fujitsu Consulting 10.5 (3)— 7.5 
			 FCO Website Internet Project—Logica CMG 6.5 12.2 (1,2)11.7 
			 Biometric Passports—3M UK Plc 6.5 6.5 (1)— 
			 (1) Not yet known. (2) Spent so far. (3) Contract ended March 2003.

Iraq

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether the Government have been consulted on proposed reform of police and paramilitaries in Baghdad; what this proposed reform comprises; and if she will make a statement.

Kim Howells: The UK takes a close interest in all efforts to reform the police in Iraq. We are aware of the intent by the Iraqi government to reform police structures in Baghdad and we will engage with them on this as their plans develop.

Iraq

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what response the Government have made to the statement by Iraqi Interior Minister Bayan Jabr that the Facility Protection Service set up by the Americans to guard official buildings was responsible for killings; and if she will make a statement.

Kim Howells: We are aware of allegations of sectarian and criminal abuses being carried out by various parts of the Iraqi security forces, including the Facilities Protection Service. We condemn any acts of abuse and we have raised our concerns with the Iraqi Authorities at the highest levels.

Israel

Phyllis Starkey: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment her Department has made of the compatibility of Israel's Nationality and Entry into Israel Law (Temporary Order) 2003 with obligations not to discriminate under the human rights clauses of the Israel-EU Trade Association Agreement.

Kim Howells: We have concerns that Israel's Nationality and Entry into Israel Law (Temporary Order) 2003 will continue to have a detrimental effect on the right to family life for Israeli-Arabs. We will be raising our concerns with the Israeli Government at the next appropriate opportunity.

Israel

Phyllis Starkey: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether the recent ruling of the Israeli Supreme Court in relation to the Nationality and Entry into Israel Law (Temporary Order) 2003 will be considered by the EU authorities as part of the human rights monitoring of the EU-Israel Trade Association Agreement.

Kim Howells: Human rights, including minority rights, will be discussed at the EU-Israel Working Group on Human Rights which will meet in June 2006.

Leased Military Bases

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 9 May 2006,  Official Report, column 196W, on RAF Wideawake, 
	(1)  how many military bases leased to the US Administration worldwide by the UK  (a) are and  (b) are not subject to rent or charges;
	(2)  if she will list the UK military bases worldwide which are leased to the military of other countries for which the UK  (a) collects and  (b) does not collect rent or charges.

Tom Watson: I have been asked to reply.
	The Ministry of Defence does not lease UK military bases worldwide to any other country. The subject of rent charged does not therefore apply.
	However, the US Government uses the Ascension Islands under the terms of the Bahamas Agreement. They also use the island of Diego Garcia under the terms of Exchanges of Notes in 1966 and 1976.
	The presence of the United States Visiting Forces in the UK is governed by the NATO Status of Forces Agreement 1951 and additional confidential arrangements.

Military Technology (Belarus/Iran)

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether she has received representations regarding the possible sale of Russian military technology by Belarus to Iran; and if she will make a statement.

Kim Howells: No representations have been received on the possible sale of Russian military technology by Belarus to Iran. The Government take a close interest in jail reports of arms transfers to and from countries whose current activities give rise to issues of potential concern and monitors the situation closely.

Miza Tahir Hussain

John Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if she will make representations to the authorities in Pakistan to commute the death sentence on Mr. Miza Tahir Hussain; and if she will make a statement.

Kim Howells: The Government are opposed to the death penalty in all circumstances, and it is our policy to always make representations against the use of the death penalty and its imposition on British nationals at whatever stage and level is judged appropriate.
	We have made a number of high level representations to the Pakistani Government on behalf of Mr. Hussain, at both senior official and Ministerial level. On behalf of my right. hon. Friend the Prime Minister and the whole Government, my right. hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has written to President Musharraf to request that he commute Mr. Hussain's death sentence to an appropriate term of imprisonment.
	In addition to these representations, Consular staff both in Pakistan and in London continue to do all they can to support Mr. Hussain. Staff at the our High Commission in Islamabad visit him regularly, most recently on 17 May 2006, and have remained in close contact with Mr. Hussain's family. Staff in London have also followed the case closely and have been in contact with Mr. Hussain's family here.
	We will continue to offer our full support toMr. Hussain and his family. We very much hope our representations will be successful.

Pensions

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many and what percentage of staff in her Department are making additional voluntary contributions to their pension.

Geoff Hoon: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office have 3 per cent. of staff making additional voluntary contributions per month: 193 officers out of a headcount of 6,117. The following is a breakdown of the different schemes:
	
		
			   Number 
			 Equitable Life 52 
			 Scottish Widows 116 
			 Standard Life 25 
			 Total 193

Portland PR

Anthony D Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what meetings officials in her Department have had with representatives of the public relations company Portland PR; what contracts Portland PR has with her Department and agencies for which she has responsibility; and what the nature of the contract is in each case.

Geoff Hoon: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) does not maintain a central list of such meetings. Civil servants meet many people as part of the process of policy development and business delivery. All such meetings are conducted in accordance with the requirements of the Civil Service Code and Guidance for Civil Servants on contacts with lobbyists and people outside Government.
	The FCO has no current contracts with Portland PR.

Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his Department's employer contribution rates to the principal civil service pension scheme are; what assumed rate of return underlies those contribution rates; and what the contribution rate would be if the assumed rate of return was in line with current redemption yield on index-linked gilts.

Geoff Hoon: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to him by my hon. Friend the then Parliamentary Secretary for the Cabinet Office (Mr. Murphy) on29 March 2006,  Official Report, columns 1030-31W.

Lebanon

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions she has had with her US counterpart regarding the US proposal to freeze the assets of those involved in the 2005 assassination of the former Lebanese Prime Minister, Rafiq Hariri; and if she will make a statement.

Kim Howells: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary expects to continue the close co-ordination with the US on all aspects of our Lebanon policy. This includes continued discussions, at ministerial and official level on this issue.
	UN Security Council resolution 1636 of October 2005 requires that all States shall freeze all funds, financial assets and economic resources owned or controlled, directly or indirectly, by individuals designated by the UN International Independent Investigation Commission (UNIIIC) or by the Government of Lebanon as suspected of involvement in the assassination of Mr. Hariri. Neither UNIIIC nor the Government of Lebanon has yet requested such action.

Russian Orchestras

Nick Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment she has made of the cost of visas and work permits for visiting orchestras from Russia; and if she will make a statement.

Kim Howells: Visiting orchestras, from Russia, or from elsewhere, may qualify for group multiple entry work permits. Such permits, issued by Work Permits UK, cost £153 per group application and can be issued for a minimum of six months and a maximum of one year. If such a work permit were obtained, each individual would have to apply for entry clearance as a work permit holder. Visas would be issued in line with the validity of the work permit and would therefore cover multiple trips to the UK. The current fee for such a visa is £85.
	UKvisas and Work Permits UK are mandated by HM Treasury guidelines to recover their costs without burdening the UK taxpayer. The visa application fee for each category of entry clearance, set in Sterling and usually payable in local currency, is the same, wherever in the world an individual applies.

Sickness Absence

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many staff in her Department have had  (a) five or more,  (b) four,  (c) three and  (d) two periods of sick leave of less than five days in each of the last three years.

Geoff Hoon: In February 2005 the Foreign and Commonwealth Office implemented new arrangements for recording sickness absence. Staff, both in the UK and overseas, now record sick leave absences electronically. While the electronic system was being rolled out during financial year (FY) 2005-06, there may have an element of under reporting. This may account for the significant differences between sickness absences in FY's 2003-04, 2004-05 and those in FY 2005-06. We strongly encourage staff to use the new system and are working on measures to improve the accuracy of the existing data.
	
		
			   Number 
			  FY 2003-04  
			 Total number of staff having five or more periods of sick leave of less than five days within the given year 231 
			 Four periods of sick absence 153 
			 Three periods of sick absence 288 
			 Two periods of sick absence 598 
			   
			  FY 2004-05  
			 Total number of staff having five or more periods of sick leave of less thin five days within the given year 211 
			 Four periods of sick absence 164 
			 Three periods of sick absence 248 
			 Two periods of sick absence 512 
			   
			  FY 2005-06  
			 Total number of staff having five or more periods of sick leave of less than five days within the given year 153 
			 Four periods of sick absence 94 
			 Three periods of sick absence 161 
			 Two periods of sick absence 343

UN Compensation Committee

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much has been paid to the Government by the United Nations Compensation Committee for distribution to claimants; how much more is expected to be paid to the Government for disbursement to claimants; how many UK claimants  (a) have and  (b) after including subsequent payments which are due will have received disbursements from the UK Government in excess of (i) £500,000, (ii) £1 million, (iii) £2 million,(iv) £5 million, (v) £10 million, (vi) £20 million and (vii) £50 million; whether any of the money has been disbursed to (A) the Government itself and (B) agencies of the Government; and if she will make a statement.

Kim Howells: To date the United Nations Compensation Committee (UNCC) has made available the sum of US $427,534,014.57 to the Government for payment to UK claimants.
	The sum of US $1,036,663.11 in compensation awards remains to be received by the Government from the UNCC for payment to approximately 50 UK claimants.
	Nearly 5,000 UK claimants have so far received disbursements of varying amounts from the Government. A breakdown of these figures is not held centrally, and the figures could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
	The Government have not received any payments itself from the UNCC and nor have any of its agencies.

Vehicle Sharing

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what incentives her Department offers to encourage staff to share vehicles when travelling to work.

Geoff Hoon: At present the Foreign and Commonwealth Office does not offer any direct incentives to staff to encourage them to share vehicles. However, we do apply policies which contribute to staff using more sustainable methods of transport:
	we limit staff parking in the Main Building in London to those who work unsocial hours and those with a disability. The majority of our staff in London use public transport;
	we provide cycle racks and changing facilities, with about 220 staff in the UK currently cycling to work;
	we currently offer staff an advance of salary to purchase a bicycle for home to office journeys and are looking into upgrading this to a salary sacrifice scheme, enabling staff to obtain cycles at a reduced cost;
	with the support of the Civil Service Travel Group, we are launching a campaign on 5 June, World Environment Day, which among other things will highlight to staff the environmental impact of their travel choices;
	we provide a minibus service for junior members of staff living in Milton Keynes and Northampton to our rural site in Hanslope Park in Buckinghamshire as only a very limited public transport service is available to the site;
	all taxi journeys out of the Hanslope Park site are shared, where it is operationally possible to do so;
	we are developing a Travel Plan which will be aimed at promoting sustainable modes of travel among our staff with a particular focus on car sharing;
	within our flexible working policy we encourage staff to work from home thereby reducing the number of journeys;
	we encourage the use of video conferencing facilities to limit non-essential travel.
	Overseas, travel policy is devolved to posts. Examples of good practice are the enhancement of bicycle travel allowance to encourage people to use bicycles rather than cars, and encourage staff to walk to meetings and to share taxis where possible.

HEALTH

Alzheimer's Disease

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what estimate she has made of how many people have Alzheimer's disease, broken down by (a) strategic health authority and  (b) primary care trust; what forecast she has made of the number of new cases each year and incidence over the next (i) 20 and (ii) 30 years; and what estimate she has made of the incidence in other EU countries;
	(2)  what assessment she has made of the total cost of  (a) treating and  (b) caring for people with Alzheimer's disease; and what forecast she has made of the future trends of this figure.

Ivan Lewis: No assessment has been undertaken by the Department about the total cost and future trends of treating and caring for people with Alzheimer's disease.
	Dementia currently affects over 750,000 people in the United Kingdom (UK). It is estimated that by 2026 there will be 840,000 people with dementia in the UK, rising to 1.2 million by 2050. The Department has not made such an estimate of incidence of Alzheimer's disease in other European Union countries
	Information on the number of people with Alzheimer's disease, broken down by strategic health authority (SHA) and primary care trust (PCT) is not available but information on the number of people in England admitted to hospital where Alzheimer's disease was a diagnosis in SHA and PCTs is shown in the table.
	
		
			  Count of patients admitted to hospital with Alzheimer's disease as a diagnosis by SHA and PCT—Data for all national health service hospitals in England, data years 2002-03, 2003-04, 2004-05 
			   Data year  
			   2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  Total 
			 SHA total patients 19,442 21,575 24,253 65,270 
			 PCT total patients 19,442 21,575 24,253 65,270 
			  Notes: ICD—10 codes used: G30 Alzheimer's disease (as provided by Data Standards, Connecting for Health) FCEs—finished consultant episodes All diagnoses count of episodes: These figures represent a count of all FCEs where the diagnosis was mentioned in any of the 14 (seven prior to 2002-03) diagnosis fields in a HES record.  Source:  Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), The Information Centre for health and social care

Autism

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many children in  (a) Torbay and  (b) England are diagnosed with autism.

Ivan Lewis: The number of finished consultant episodes(1 )involving a diagnosis of autistic spectrum disorders, for children aged up to 15 in 2004-05, in Torbay primary care trust (PCT) was 83, and in England was 5,888.
	Data for England is for all national health service hospitals. Data for Torbay shows figures for children treated by Torbay PCT. The figures do not represent the number of patients, as a person may have more than one episode of care within the year.
	(1) A finished consultant episode is defined as a period of admitted patient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider.

Bone Marrow Donation

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the merits of raising the upper age limit for bone marrow donation; and what plans she has to encourage UK registries to reach a consensus on this matter.

Caroline Flint: NHS Blood and Transplant is currently considering this issue with the Anthony Nolan Trust and the Welsh Blood Service.

Bone Marrow Donation

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what steps she takes to monitor the number of people from ethnic minority backgrounds donating bone marrow;
	(2)  what plans she has to promote bone marrow donation  (a) within schools and  (b) to people from ethnic minority backgrounds; and if she will make a statement.

Caroline Flint: The NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) is responsible for managing the British Bone Marrow Registry (BBMR). The ethnicity of people joining the BBMR is monitored by NHSBT.
	The NHSBT is looking into developing a school pack for 16 to 18-year-olds. The pack would be designed to promote all donation opportunities within NHSBT, for example blood, bone marrow, organs, tissues and cord blood. NHSBTs strategy over the coming year is to maintain the BBMR at its current size and focus their recruitment activity towards under represented ethnic groups.

Breast Cancer (Shrewsbury and Atcham)

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people were diagnosed with breast cancer in Shrewsbury and Atcham in 2005.

John Healey: I have been asked to reply.
	The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 24 May 2006:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking how many people were diagnosed with breast cancer in Shrewsbury and Atcham in 2005.(72521)
	The most recent available figures for newly diagnosed cases of cancer registered in England are the year 2003. There were 67 cases of breast cancer diagnosed in Shrewsbury and Atcham county district in 2003.

Cancelled Appointments

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people in the Hull and East Yorkshire Hospital NHS Trust area had their appointments cancelled by the trust  (a) once,  (b) twice,  (c) three and  (d) more than three times in the last five years; and if she will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: The information requested is not collected centrally.

Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average waiting time was for an appointment with the child and adolescent mental health service in each primary care trust area in 2005-06.

Ivan Lewis: holding answer 22 May 2006
	The requested information is not collected centrally. The child and adolescent mental health service (CAMHS) mapping exercise for 2004 found that just over 50 per cent. of new cases were seen within four weeks, an improvement on the 24 per cent. of new cases in 2002. Similarly, the number of cases waiting over 13 weeks has reduced from just over 50 per cent. to just over 30 per cent.

Children's Wards

Nadine Dorries: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps the Government are taking to improve the provision and quality of care in children's wards in England; and if she will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: The national service framework (NSF) for children, young people and maternity services, copies of which are available in the Library, includes a standard on hospital care for children. We expect all hospitals providing services to children to implement these standards, and to consider good practice examples included in the Department's database of emerging practice.
	The Healthcare Commission, which is required to pay particular attention to the need to safeguard and promote the rights and welfare of children and the effectiveness of measures taken to do so, is currently concluding an improvement review to assess the quality of healthcare for children in hospital, based on elements of the NSF hospital standard. The NSF is available on the Department's website at www.dh.gov.uk/childrensnsf/.

Commission for Social Care Inspection

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will revise the minimum requirement for care homes and nursing homes to have one announced and one unannounced visit by the Commission for Social Care Inspection per year, so as to require all visits to be unannounced; and if she will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: On 2 March 2006, my hon. Friend the Member for Birmingham, Hodge Hill (Mr. Byrne) announced changes, effective from 1 April 2006, to the Commission for Social Care Inspection (Fees and Frequency of Inspections) Regulations, which govern inspections by the Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI).
	The new regulations permit the CSCI to inspect any adult social care service at any time, as long as every service is inspected at least once in three years. In the past, CSCI was required to inspect adult services at least twice a year (less frequently for some services). The changes will enable CSCI to work more efficiently, by focusing its efforts on services that need attention, while a small number of the very best adult services will notice a longer period between their inspections. There will be more unannounced inspections and more focus on the experiences of people using the services.
	There will be no change to the frequency of inspection of children's services.

Connecting for Health Computer System

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the estimated cost was of the Connecting for Health computer system in each primary care trust.

Caroline Flint: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given on 17 May 2006,  Official Report, column 1114W.

Departmental Responsibilities

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list the responsibilities which her Department has lost since 1997; what the  (a) date and  (b) destination Department was in each case; what responsibilities the Department has taken on since 1997; and what the (i) date and (ii) source Department was in each case.

Ivan Lewis: holding answer 15 May 2006
	Ministerial responsibilities are set out in the "List of Ministerial Responsibilities", which is updated regularly. A revised version will be published shortly. Copies of previous versions are available in the Library.

Disabled People (Assessments)

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the  (a) maximum and  (b) average amount of time was that a person with a disability had to wait to be assessed for assistance from social services in Sefton in the last two years.

Ivan Lewis: Information on the maximum and average amount of time that a person with a disability had to wait is not collected centrally.
	It is for local social services departments to prioritise assessments for people with disabilities, based on need.

Elderly Mental Infirm Patients

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many homes registered for elderly mental infirm patients there are in England.

Ivan Lewis: I understand from the Chair of the Commission for Social Care Inspection that, as at 23 March 2006, the latest available figures, the number of care homes registered for older people with mental illness was 1,752.

Ex-service Personnel

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the NHS provides  (a) treatment and  (b) resources specifically for ex-service personnel following injury or illness while serving in the armed forces.

Caroline Flint: holding answer 27 February 2006
	The national health service is responsible for the medical care of ex-service personnel, provided the individual is entitled to residency in the United Kingdom, on the same basis as any other member of the public.
	Guidance issued by the Department in 2004 states that for those leaving the armed services with significant or debilitating illness or injury, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) should engage with the relevant primary care trust to ensure a seamless transfer of care between that managed by the MOD and that to be provided by the NHS.
	The full text of the guidance 'Health Service Guidance covering Arrangements between the Ministry of Defence and the NHS' is available on the Department's website at:
	www.dh.gov.uk/assetRoot/04/11/37/68/04113768.pdf.

General Practitioners

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many general practitioner surgeries in (a) England and (b) Hackney, North and Stoke Newington are operating appointment booking systems by which appointments may only be booked a certain maximum time in advance.

Ivan Lewis: The Department is continuing to work with strategic health authorities to get primary care trusts (PCTs) to ensure their general practices offer patients flexible as well as fast access.
	In support of this aim, the Department collects information each month from PCTs on the appointment arrangements operated by their practices. In April 2006, there were 20 practices nationally whose PCTs reported that they do not allow patients to book more than two days in advance. A further 126 practices did not have any appointment system in place.
	Hackney, North and Stoke Newington is served by City and Hackney PCT and Haringey PCT. The former reported one practice and the latter two practices without appointment systems. Otherwise, both PCTs reported that their practices allow patients to book ahead.
	A new independent national patient experience survey will be introduced in 2006-07 which will incentivise practices making accessing a general practitioner easier, with rewards linked directly with patients' experiences of how their practice is improving.

General Practitioners

Ben Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the operation and regulation of general practitioner out-of-hours services.

Caroline Flint: holding answer 17 May 2006
	The Department's aim is to ensure that all patients can be assured of high quality, responsive and consistent out-of-hours service wherever they live. We have put in place quality requirements, which set minimum standards for the delivery of out-of-hours care. Primary care trusts and strategic health authorities are responsible for assessing the performance of out-of-hours providers against the quality requirements. The requirements are available at the Department's website at www.dh.gov.uk/outofhours.
	The National Audit Office (NAO) report "The Provision of Out-of-Hours care in England" published on 5 May found that 80 per cent. of patients were satisfied with the services provided but that there was room for improvement. We are working with the NAO to bring performance of all primary care trusts up to the levels of the best.

Hospital Appointments

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 8 May 2006,  Official Report, columns 63-64W on hospital appointments, what other systems send messages through the care record spine; how the costs associated with the spine are accounted for; and what the  (a) set-up costs and  (b) annual running costs of the spine are. [ holding answer 15 May 2006]

Caroline Flint: The spine is the colloquial name given to the national database of key information about patients' health and care. It forms the core of the national health service care records service. It also supports other key programmes of the national programme for information technology, such as choose and book the electronic prescriptions service (EPS), and general practitioner (GP) to GP record transfer, each of them using the spine's messaging capabilities as part of their own services.
	Choose and book daily registers in excess of 150,000 message transactions from almost 36,000 referring clinicians, and over 360,000 bookings have been made to date. Nearly 1.2 million prescriptions have already been processed through EPS. Almost 400 general practices are currently generating electronic prescription messages and over 800 general practices have had their systems upgraded in preparation for going live. About 1,500 pharmacies have now had their systems upgraded to enable them to receive electronic prescription messages.
	The spine has a number of applications, including:
	personal demographics service (PDS), which holds nationally demographic information for every patient covered by the NHS in England, accessible through local systems, and is currently processing message transactions at a rate of over nine million per month;
	spine directory services, which holds reference data such as users and locations. 220,000 users are now registered; almost 45,000 currently access the system on any given day;
	access control framework, which registers and authenticates users, including patients, and provides a single log-in and a record of each professional accessing a NHS care record;
	transaction messaging system, which processes and routes data messages, for example, from a GP to a hospital or from one GP to another.
	These four elements went live on time and to budget in July 2004 to support choose and book.
	Other planned applications are:
	secondary uses service (SUS), providing the NHS with high quality data to enable investigation of trends and emerging health needs which can inform public health policy. The data extracted will provide information to support performance improvement and assessment, clinical audit and governance, monitoring and benchmarking, surveillance, research and planning;
	personal spine information service (PSIS), providing personal health information for a patient, for example, drug allergies, details of operations and/or conditions, medication history, pathology, radiology and other results, as well as a summary of contacts with care providers;
	clinical spine application (CSA), allowing patient information on the spine to be viewed on a personal computer; users will be able to view and update patient information.
	The first stage of SUS went live in June 2005 to support payment by results, and is already processing around half a million message transactions a month. PSIS and CSA are due for piloting in 2007, with rollout expected in early 2008.
	Picture archiving and communications (PACS) implementations in 2007 include plans to integrate to elements of the spine such as PDS. Currently there are 31 live national programme PACS systems, with over 27 million images stored.
	A total of 5,647 GP systems, 253 pharmacy systems, and over 100 patient administrations systems are currently linked to and regularly using the spine. These systems have already achieved compliance, and around 70 or so systems are in test at various development stages across the programme. Interface standards are made available to all suppliers, as well as published more widely. The standards have been developed to reflect internationally-recognised standards, and in conjunction with the programme's major suppliers.
	Use of the spine will continue to develop over the life of the programme to deliver the full set of planned patient benefits and clinical improvements to the NHS.
	Costs associated with the spine are accounted for by the NHS Connecting for Health agency of the Department which is responsible for delivering the programme and for managing programme contracts. Set-up (capital) costs are incurred in phases as functionality is added to the spine through staged software releases over the implementation period. They are expected to total £335 million on completion. The ongoing service (revenue) costs average around£45 million a year, although this falls in a range between £30 to £60 million in any particular year. These sums are in line with the contracted value of the work concerned, and represent an investment of roughly one pound per NHS patient per year over the life of the contract.

Independent Treatment Centres

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the  (a) cost-effectiveness and  (b) quality of patient care in independent sector treatment centres.

Ivan Lewis: Value for money has been ensured by running a robust and competitive procurement process, and by benchmarking procedure prices between contracts and comparing them with the national health service equivalent cost and the prices paid by the NHS to the independent sector under spot purchase arrangements.
	The National Centre for Health Outcomes Development (NCHOD) published a preliminary report on four independent sector treatment centre schemes in October 2005. The NCHOD audit is based on some of the 26 key performance indicators that independent sector providers are contractually obliged to collect in order to monitor clinical quality, patient experience, and productivity of services. The preliminary report is available at the NCHOD's website at www.nchod.nhs.uk. A further report is expected later this year, In addition, as announced by the Secretary of State on 26 April, the Healthcare Commission will be undertaking an audit of independent sector treatment centres.

Independent Treatment Centres

Francis Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the  (a) complication and  (b) failure rates are for orthopaedic operations at (i) each independent treatment centre (ITC) and (ii) the NHS hospital closest to each ITC.

Ivan Lewis: The information requested relating to national health service hospitals is not collected centrally.
	Information is collected on the number of untoward incidents at independent sector treatment centres, but the data is not exclusive to complications arising from surgery.

Independent Treatment Centres

Francis Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the  (a) contract value and  (b) location is of each of the independent treatment centre programmes in the second wave.

Ivan Lewis: We are in the process of a commercial procurement being conducted according to European Union procurement law, and as such we cannot release the value of individual schemes as they are commercially sensitive. The total value of activities procured in phase two is expected to be £550 million.
	Invitations to negotiate (ITNs) have been issued for 12 schemes for elective procedures. These are in the following areas:
	Northumberland, Tyne and Wear;
	Cumbria and Lancashire (two schemes);
	Cheshire and Merseyside;
	Essex;
	West Midland South;
	Avon, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire;
	Greater Manchester (two schemes);
	South London;
	Hampshire and Isle of Wight; and
	Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire
	We expect a further tranche of ITNs to be issued in the summer.
	Negotiations are also under way with bidders on seven regional diagnostics schemes. These are in the following areas:
	London;
	the North East;
	the West Midlands;
	the North West;
	the South East;
	the South West; and
	the East

IT Reviews

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the statement from her Department of 10 April 2006 that the national programme for IT is under constant review and audit, with what frequency such reviews and audits are conducted; if she will list the bodies that  (a) have conducted,  (b) are conducting and  (c) plan to conduct such reviews and audits; and if she will place in the Library a list of required actions that have resulted from those reviews and audits conducted.

Caroline Flint: holding answer 9 May 2006
	The national programme has been subject from its inception to the Office of Government Commence (OGC) Gateway process. Gateway reviews have been, and continue to be, undertaken at each of the standard stages throughout the development of every project within the programme, and of its cluster-based deployment activity from initiation to live running. A similar annual and ongoing programme of audit reviews has been and continues to be carried out by the Department's internal auditors. A National Audit Office (NAO) value for money study into choice at the point of referral which reported in January 2005, involved close scrutiny of the work of the national programme and specifically the choose and book programme. The report on a further NAO study into wider aspects of the programme has yet to be published, and this has included an independent review of programme management capability. In addition, the programme's own quality management function undertakes a broad range of reviews and audits of specific aspects of programme, cluster and supplier activity on an ongoing basis.
	A number of independent reviews have been commissioned under contract, including one commissioned from McKinsey to inform the approach before the start of the programme, and from other suppliers to establish the value for the national health service and taxpayer achieved through the contracts and to examine specific aspects such as disaster recovery. In addition, there is ongoing review by transparent discussion with key stakeholder groups including the British Medical Association and through consultation initiated by the care record development board.
	OGC Gateway reports and other reports have been provided in confidence in order not to impair the value of the advice they contain and to protect commercial confidentiality. We have no plans to publish the outcome of these reports. Given the number of reviews and audits concerned, extraction of recommendations in each case could be done only at disproportionate cost.

IT Reviews

Francis Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether she intends to commission an independent audit of the National programme for IT in the NHS.

Caroline Flint: The National programme is already the focus of regular and routine audit, scrutiny and review. It has been subject from its inception to the Office of Government Commerce Gateway process. Gateway reviews have been, and continue to be, undertaken at each of the standard stages throughout the development of every component project within the programme, and of its cluster-based deployment activity from initiation through to live running. A similar annual and ongoing programme of audit reviews has been, and continues to be, carried out by the Department's internal auditors.
	A National Audit Office (NAO) value for money study into choice at the point of referral, which reported in January 2005, involved close scrutiny of the work of the national programme and specifically the choose and book programme. The report on a further NAO value for money study into wider aspects of the programme has yet to be published, and this has included an independent review of programme management capability.
	In addition, the programme's own quality management function undertakes a broad range of reviews and audits of specific aspects of programme, cluster and supplier activity on an ongoing basis.
	A number of independent reviews have been commissioned under contract, including one commissioned from McKinsey to inform the approach before the start of the programme, and from other suppliers to establish the value for the national health service and taxpayer achieved through the contracts and to examine specific aspects such as disaster recovery. Ongoing review is also encouraged by transparent discussion with key stakeholder groups including the British Medical Association and through consultation initiated by the care record development board.
	We remain confident that the technical architecture of the national programme is appropriate and will enable benefits to be delivered for patients, and value for money for the taxpayer, without further independent scrutiny.

Junior Doctors

Richard Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the consequences of the Association of University Teachers action short of a strike on the final qualification of medical students in June 2006; and what arrangements she is making to ensure that NHS junior doctors' posts can be filled on 1 August 2006.

Rosie Winterton: It is a matter for higher education institutions to consider how best they can minimise the adverse effects on students of the current dispute, including making contingency arrangements for exams and assessment.
	The dispute will not have a great impact on graduating medical students because their assessments will be conducted by clinical academic staff (including some national health service staff with honorary academic appointments) who, if they belong to a trade association, are normally British Medical Association members.
	Postgraduate deans are working closely with their heads of medical schools to monitor the situation.

Long-term (Neurological) Conditions Framework

Howard Stoate: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how the Government are measuring implementation of the national service framework for long-term (neurological) conditions; and what progress has been made in implementation since it was published.

Ivan Lewis: The Department is coordinating a range of activity to support national and local implementation of the national service framework (NSF) for long-term neurological conditions. This includes:
	working with key national health service, social care, voluntary and independent sector stakeholders, as well as service users and carers, to identify and address key issues in neurological services and the stakeholders' role in implementation;
	ensuring that other key delivery programmes, most especially the White Paper "Our Health, Our Care, Our Say" and the long-term conditions strategy help deliver key NSF objectives; and
	work to support local delivery, including regional implementation workshops, a web-based getting started pack and self-assessment tool for services through the Care Services Improvement Partnership to provide practical help to local health and social care organisations.
	Progress on implementation will be measured in a number of ways, including:
	research studies commissioned as part of a national research initiative to underpin implementation of the NSF, to provide baseline data needed to measure the subsequent impact of the NSF;
	work to develop a national minimum dataset for long-term neurological conditions;
	implementation of clinical indicators developed as part of the better metrics programme;
	and
	work with the Healthcare Commission and Commission for Social Care Inspection to identify ways of monitoring and inspecting progress.

Long-term Care

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent reports she has considered on the cost of long-term care; and if she will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: The Department welcomed the publication of "Securing Good Care for Older People", the King's Fund review led by Sir Derek Wanless into long-term social care for older people in England.
	The report is an important starting point that we need to feed into our work on the 2007 comprehensive spending review. To inform this work we are bringing in external experts. We are delighted that Sir Derek Wanless has agreed to be one of these experts.

Myalgic Encephalomyelitis

Andrew Stunell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what representations she has received on retaining ring-fenced funding for primary care trusts for the provision of myalgic encephalomyelitis support services; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  what steps her Department is taking to support people with myalgic  (a) encephalomyelitis and  (b) encephalopathy;
	(3)  what funding the Government have allocatedto continuing specialist services for myalgic  (a) encephalomyelitis and  (b) encephalopathy; and if she will make a statement;
	(4)  what advice her Department plans to issue to primary care trusts on funding for specialist services for myalgic  (a) encephalomyelitis and  (b) encephalopathy in 2006-07;
	(5)  what support her Department provides for patients with myalgic  (a) encephalomyelitis and  (b) encephalopathy who are (i) bed and (ii) house bound and unable to attend the newly developed specialist services; and if she will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: People with chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis/encephalopathy (CFS/ME) have access to the full range of health and social services support as outlined in the national service framework for long-term conditions (the NSF). This includes:
	Joint health and social care plans that change over time and consider other needs such as housing, transport, benefits, education, careers advice, employment and leisure;
	Access to a broad range of services, including rehabilitation, equipment, accommodation and personal care to help people live as independently as possible at home; and
	Support to help people to work or take up other vocational opportunities.
	The £8.5 million budget to establish new CFS/ME services has supported the development of 13 clinical network co-ordinating centres (CNCCs) and 36 local multidisciplinary teams (LMDTs), as well as 11 specialist children and young people teams across England.
	The role of the LMDTs is to lead the development of services within primary and secondary care to support general practitioners and other relevant professionals in the care of the patient. In this respect, LMDTs are expected to develop networks of local domiciliary services, including health education and social services, to support those more severely affected, including those who are housebound and bed bound and are therefore unable to access services.
	Funding of CFS/ME services from 2006-07 is included within the resource allocations to primary care trusts (PCTs), PCTs have been informed that this funding would be included within their baseline allocations.
	Ministers and departmental officials regularly receive representations seeking dedicated funding for a range of specific diseases and conditions, including CFS/ME. These include a number of questions from Members, which appear in the  Official Report, for example on 17 May 2006, column 1108W and 6 March 2006, column 1198W.

Midwifery

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  which midwife-led maternity units are  (a) within a primary care trust,  (b) within an acute trust,  (c) within another setting or  (d) independent;
	(2)  which  (a) primary care trusts,  (b) acute trusts and  (c) other NHS bodies have midwife-led maternity units on their premises.

Ivan Lewis: holding answer 23 May 2006
	This information is not collected centrally.

Neonatal Units (London)

Andrew Pelling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average occupancy rates were in each London neonatal unit in each of the last three years.

Ivan Lewis: The Department does not collect the information in the format requested. Data are for occupancy of neonatal beds and is collected only at trust level rather than at neonatal unit level.
	The average daily occupancy rate for neonatal intensive care beds for national health service organisations in London, 2002-03 to 2004-05 is shown in the table.
	
		
			  Percentage 
			  Strategic health authority name  Organisation  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05 
			 North West London Chelsea and Westminster Healthcare NHS Trust 91.6 94.2 100 
			 North West London Ealing Hospital NHS Trust 54.3 63.8 66.8 
			 North West London North West London Hospitals NHS Trust 85.4 88.1 97.5 
			 North West London St. Mary's Hospital NHS Trust 100 98.0 93 
			 North West London The Hammersmith Hospitals NHS Trust 89.2 84.4 89.5 
			 North West London The Hillingdon Hospital NHS Trust 65.5 82.2 85.7 
			 North West London West Middlesex University NHS Trust 60 70.1 62.7 
			 North Central London Barnet and Chase Farm Hospitals NHS Trust—Chase Farm site 65.2 100 100 
			 North Central London Great Ormond Street Hospital For Children NHS Trust 74.3 81.9 84.5 
			 North Central London North Middlesex Hospital NHS Trust 47.5 40.2 27.4 
			 North Central London The Royal Free Hampstead NHS Trust 86 86.9 86.3 
			 North Central London University College London Hospitals NHS Trust 72.3 84.1 86.2 
			 North Central London Whittington Hospital NHS Trust 98.5 98.3 100 
			 North East London Barking Havering and Redbridge Hospitals NHS Trust (King George site) 68.5 68.1 71.4 
			 North East London Barts and The London NHS Trust 70.2 73.3 77.8 
			 North East London Homerton Hospital NHS Trust 88.4 90.6 87.3 
			 South East London Bromley Hospitals NHS Trust 65.4 52.8 59.8 
			 South East London Guy's and St. Thomas' NHS Trust 70.2 73.6 74.3 
			 South East London King's College Hospital NHS Trust 92.5 100 100 
			 South East London Lewisham Hospital NHS Trust 85.6 86.6 92.5 
			 South East London Queen Elizabeth Hospital NHS Trust 60.6 51.1 73.8 
			 South East London Queen Mary's Sidcup NHS Trust 43.6 48 50.7 
			 South West London Epsom and St. Helier NHS Trust 62.2 57.5 55.1 
			 South West London Kingston Hospital NHS Trust 63.4 79.8 80.6 
			 South West London Mayday Healthcare NHS Trust 69.9 72.3 82.7 
			 South West London St. George's Healthcare NHS Trust 90.6 90.3 96.9 
			  Source: Department of Health form KH03

Neonatal Units (London)

Andrew Pelling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many  (a) neonatal intensive care cots and  (b) special care cots in London were not being used due to a lack of staff in the latest period for which figures are available.

Ivan Lewis: The information requested is not collected centrally.

Neonatal Units (London)

Andrew Pelling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans she has to change the number of neonatal nurses in London.

Ivan Lewis: It is for the local national health service to ensure that staff numbers are at a sufficient level to meet the needs of the local population.

Neurology

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what assessment her Department has made of the accuracy of diagnosis of hereditary neuropathy with liability to pressure palsies in NHS patients; and what estimate her Department has made of the number of undiagnosed cases;
	(2)  what steps she is taking to increase awareness of hereditary neuropathy with liability to pressure palsies in the medical profession;
	(3)  what plans she has to change the number of  (a) consultants and  (b) nurses qualified to diagnose and treat hereditary neuropathy with liability to pressure palsies;
	(4)  what Government support is available to those who are diagnosed with hereditary neuropathy with liability to pressure palsies and their families; and if she will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: The detail of the content of curricula for doctors in training and maintaining skills and knowledge are professional matters.
	Those most severely affected by neurological disorders, including those that are genetic in origin, have access to the full range of health and social services support as outlined in the national service framework for long-term conditions. This includes:
	Joint health and social care plans that change over time and take other needs into account such as housing, transport, benefits, education, careers advice, employment and leisure;
	Access to a broad range of services including rehabilitation, equipment, accommodation, personal care to help people live as independently as possible at home; and
	Support to help people to work or take up other vocational opportunities.
	We have not assessed the accuracy of diagnosis, and cannot practically estimate who carries the defective gene.
	We have no plans to develop new clinical specialties in this area. Our efforts are focused on securing an adequate work force—including clinicians, therapists and medical scientists—to meet the current and forecast needs of all patients.

NeuroMuscular Centre

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what funding has been allocated to the NeuroMuscular Centre at Winsford for the next five years.

Ivan Lewis: The NeuroMuscular Centre at Winsford is a charity that has not applied for, nor been allocated, any departmental funding.

Non-emergency Treatment

Ann Widdecombe: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  on what basis Mr. Edward Atkinson has been told that non-emergency treatment at Queen Elizabeth Hospital, King's Lynn, will not be available to him in the future; what categories of offender are not eligible for non-emergency treatment at Queen Elizabeth Hospital King's Lynn NHS Trust; what measures are in place to ensure Mr. Atkinson receives appropriate treatment; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  how many people serving sentences for  (a) murder,  (b) rape and  (c) grievous bodily harm have been told they may not attend national health service hospitals for non-emergency treatment.

Andy Burnham: The guidance framework on the withholding of national health service treatment from violent and abusive patients was issued by the Department in 2001 following on from the cross-government zero tolerance campaign introduced in 2000, to tackle violence in the NHS. The guidance highlighted that the withholding of NHS treatment from violent and abusive patients will always be a last resort, but should be an option available to managers and staff working in all NHS trusts, with certain exemptions including those requiring urgent medical treatment or under the age of 16. The guidance made explicit that all NHS trusts develop local policies on withholding treatment from violent and abusive patients in consultation with independent legal advice on the terms and application of such a policy; and trusts must also have in place clear defensible policies and procedures outlining the circumstances where the withholding of treatment is justifiable.
	Information is not collected on the number of prisoners who have had NHS treatment withheld as a result of NHS policies on protecting staff from violence and abuse.
	Since then the Government created the NHS Security Management Service (NHS SMS) in April 2003. The NHS SMS has launched a comprehensive strategy, which has replaced work previously undertaken under the NHS Zero Tolerance campaign. The NHS SMS strategy places a particular emphasis on the introduction of preventative measures to stop violent incidents from occurring in the first place. In 2004, the NHS SMS issued guidance covering the application of this strategy in the context of tackling the whole issue of non-physical assaults on NHS staff.
	The West Norfolk Primary Care Trust is advising Mr. Atkinson's general practitioner so that alternative routes to treatment can be found through the "Patient Choice" agenda.

Osteoporosis

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what steps she is taking to improve the information and support offered to people with osteoporosis;
	(2)  what assessment she has made of the impact the proposals in the White Paper, "Our Health, Our Care, Our Say", will have on  (a) the management of osteoporosis,  (b) choice for osteoporosis patients and  (c) the number of osteoporosis fractures;

Ivan Lewis: The Department has not assessed the impact of the White Paper, "Our Health, Our care, Our Say" on osteoporosis services or the number of osteoporotic fractures.
	"Our Health, Our care, Our Say" will build on the progress that has already been made in the management of a range of long-term conditions, giving people greater choice and control over the care they receive and ensuring that they are treated sooner, closer to home and earlier in the course of their disease.
	PRODIGY guidance which is available at www.prodigy.nhs.uk offers advice on the management of a range of conditions and symptoms, including osteoporosis, that are commonly seen in primary care. The guidance is advisory and has been developed to assist healthcare professionals, together with patients, make decisions about the management of the patient's health.
	The Department has also asked the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence to produce a clinical guideline on the assessment of risk fracture and prevention of osteoporotic fractures in individuals at high risk.
	Osteoporosis can often be prevented by maintaining a healthy lifestyle and, through a range of initiatives, the Department is raising awareness of the importance of regular exercise, a balanced diet, smoking prevention/cessation and a responsible attitude to alcohol consumption in the prevention of a range of conditions, including osteoporosis.

Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals Trust

Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps her Department plans to take to safeguard patient care at the Oxford Radcliffe hospitals trust following the prospective job losses.

Caroline Flint: It is the responsibility of primary care trusts and strategic health authorities to analyse their local situation and develop plans, in liaison with their local national health service trusts and primary care providers, to deliver high quality NHS services and take action to recruit the appropriate staff required to deliver these services.

Parliamentary Questions

John Leech: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when she will reply to Question 65812 from the hon. Member for Manchester, Withington, on the 'Choose and Book' system, tabled on 20 April 2006.

Ivan Lewis: A reply was given on 17 May 2006,  Official Report, column 1094W.

Petitions

Nick Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what arrangements are in place in her Department for responding to petitions presented in the House and forwarded to her.

Ivan Lewis: A ministerial reply is sent in response to all petitions where there are contact details for a lead organisation or individual.
	Petitions are then kept for a period of years.

Portland PR

Nick Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what meetings officials in her Department have had with representatives of the public relations company Portland PR; what contracts Portland PR has with her Department and agencies for which she has responsibility; and what the nature of the contract is in each case.

Ivan Lewis: The Department does not maintain a central list of such meetings. Civil servants meet many people as part of the process of policy development and business delivery. All such meetings are conducted in accordance with the requirements of the Civil Service Code and Guidance for civil servants on contacts with lobbyists and people outside Government
	The Department does not have any contracts with Portland PR and does not hold records of contracts let by its agencies.

Section 64 Grants

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list the section 64 grants for 2006-07 that have been paid by her Department, broken down by  (a) recipient and  (b) the sum paid; and if she will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: This information will be available on the Department's website at www.dh.gov.uk/section64 at the end of May 2006.

Self-harm

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent estimate she has made of the number of children and young people who self-harm, broken down by  (a) sex and  (b) ethnic group.

Ivan Lewis: Information is not collected in the form requested. In 2002, a survey by the Office for National Statistics of 12,000 five to 15-year-olds found that 1.3 per cent. had tried to self-harm.

Spinal Injuries

Roger Berry: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment her Department has made of the impact on NHS costs of ensuring appropriate  (a) rehabilitation and  (b) care of spinal cord injured people in specialised settings.

Ivan Lewis: The Department has not made an assessment of the impact on national health service costs of ensuring appropriate rehabilitation and care of spinal cord injured people in specialised settings.
	The Department does not routinely collect detailed costings for services provided by the NHS for specific conditions. It is the responsibility of primary care trusts to determine the provision and appropriate funding of local services based on the needs of their populations. With regard to specialised services, primary care trusts are expected to collaboratively commission them through their membership of the eight specialised commissioning groups and 26 local specialised commissioning groups covering England.

Student Nurses

Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment her Department has made of the employment prospects for student nurses graduating in 2006.

Rosie Winterton: The national health service still needs newly qualified nurses to replace those who retire or take career breaks. However, there is now more competition and new staff may not always be able to find the job they want in the location they want and may need to be more flexible.
	Strategic health authorities and NHS trusts are working proactively to identify opportunities for newly qualified staff within their workforce plans.

Third Sector Funding

Shailesh Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the review of departmental funding to the third sector has been completed.

Ivan Lewis: holding answer 23 May 2006
	I refer the hon. Member to the reply given on 24 April 2006,  Official Report, column 967W.

TRANSPORT

Aircraft Safety

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what representations he has received from  (a) the Independent Pilots Association and  (b) the British Airline Pilots Association on potential under-reporting of contaminated air events on UK registered aircraft.

Gillian Merron: The information is as follows:
	 (a) The Department checked with IPA who confirmed they had not sent representations. However, they have since written to Sir Roy McNulty, chairman of the CAA, on 12 May 2006, about contaminated air events and the Department has been sent a copy. This letter mentions, among other matters, potential under-reporting.
	 (b) The Department has useful working contacts with BALPA. Both DFT and BALPA want to develop an authoritative understanding of cabin air quality issues. The Department has therefore commissioned the independent Committee on Toxicity (COT) to conduct a comprehensive evidence review of any health risks in cabin air. The formal COT meeting will be held in public later this year. BALPA has contributed actively to this process.

Aircraft Safety

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the impact on human health of exposure to pyrolised synthetic jet engine oils; and in what year the Department first received a representation on this matter;
	(2)  what epidemiological surveys have been carried out on the long-term impact of repeated exposure of pilots to chemicals, with particular reference to potential neuropsychological impacts;
	(3)  what research he has  (a) commissioned and  (b) evaluated on the effects on health of exposure on commercial aircraft to pyrolised synthetic jet engine oils (i) dermally and (ii) via inhalation.

Gillian Merron: The Department has commissioned the independent Committee on Toxicity (COT) to conduct a comprehensive evidence review of any such health risks in cabin air. The formal COT meeting will be held in public later this year. The Departmentwill be guided by the COT conclusions and recommendations.
	It is not possible to state the exact year in which the Department first received representations on this matter, although there is a record of a parliamentary question on 11 December 2001 from Paul Tyler MP, and the issue was covered in the House of Lords Select Committee on Science and Technology into the issue of Air Travel and Health which reported in November 2000. In its evidence to that Committee BALPA said it had raised concerns with the then Department for the Environment, Transport and the Regions.

Aircraft Safety

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what information is held by the Civil Aviation Authority in relation to contaminated air incidents on British Aerospace BAE 146 aircraft between 28 January and December 2005.

Gillian Merron: The Civil Aviation Authority has 10 records in relation to incidents between 28 January and December 2005. These records are set out in a table, which has been placed in the Libraries of the House today.

Aircraft Safety

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the effect on airline safety of the inhalation by a pilot of the organophosphate tricresyl phosphate; and if he will make a statement.

Gillian Merron: In 2004 the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) published safety research into fume events that concluded that
	'no single component or set of components can be identified which at conceivable concentrations would definitely cause the symptoms reported in cabin air quality incidents'.
	But acids were found which could act as irritants, and as a result CAA brought in specific troubleshooting and maintenance actions to minimise the potential for fume events.
	Since then the Department has commissioned the independent Committee on Toxicity (COT) to conduct a comprehensive evidence review of toxic risk in cabin air. The. formal COT meeting will be held in public later this year. We shall be guided by the COT conclusions and recommendations.

Beverley Integrated Transport Plan

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when the East Riding of Yorkshire council will receive confirmation of funding for the Beverley Integrated Transport Plan; and if he will make a statement.

Gillian Merron: The Department is currently considering East Riding's Business Case for this scheme alongside the Yorkshire and Humber region's advice on its priorities for major transport schemes within the indicative regional funding allocations announced in July 2005. The response is expected to be announced later this year.

British Airports Authority

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what provisions exist for Special Administration in the event that the British Airports Authority (BAA) or its holding company should go into administration or receivership; and what arrangements are in place to ensure that BAA's airports continue to operate in such an eventuality.

Gillian Merron: There is no provision for Special Administration in the event of any UK airport operator going into administration or receivership. Any such provision could only be introduced by primary legislation. The Government liaise closely with BAA, and other airport operators, to understand their plans for managing major risks such as this.

Buses

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when consultation was  (a) started and  (b) completed on the civil enforcement of bus lane contraventions outside London under the Transport Act 2000; and if he will make a statement.

Gillian Merron: The Department wrote to consultees on 10 July 2002 seeking comments by 6 September 2002 on the draft regulations concerning the arrangements for imposing civil penalty charges for bus lane contraventions, the handling of representations, the procedure for adjudication and the procedure for enforcement when a penalty charge is not paid. A summary of the comments received was published on the DfT website on 15 November 2004.

Buses

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions he has had with bus operators on  (a) the reduction in services in Huddersfield and Yorkshire and  (b) the introduction of free transport for the over 60s.

Gillian Merron: Ministers meet with bus operators on a regular basis and discuss a range of issues. The Confederation of Passenger Transport (CPT), the main body representing the bus industry, participates in the Department's Concessionary Fares Working Group along with representatives from local government. There have been no specific discussion with operators in Huddersfield and Yorkshire about services or concessionary travel.

Buses

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps the Government is taking to improve the skills of bus drivers; and what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Education and Skills on this subject.

Gillian Merron: Over recent years, the Sector Skills Development Agency (SSDA) has taken forward the task of creating Sector Skills Councils (SSCs) across various sectors of industry. In October 2004 the SSDA awarded a licence to GoSkills, which is now the SSC for passenger transport. GoSkills is taking a leading role in addressing the skills needs of the passenger transport industry, including those of bus drivers.
	The Department is providing funding of £0.75 million over the period 2005-06 to 2007-08 in support of Go Skills' work. It works closely with the Department of Education and Skills on these matters.
	Government, bus operators and local authorities have been jointly considering the issue of staff recruitment and retention in the industry through a Bus Partnership Forum Task and Finish Group. The forum will shortly be publishing a best practice guide as a result of this work.

Buses

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the average wage is of a bus driver in  (a) West Yorkshire,  (b) Leeds,  (c) Huddersfield and  (d) London.

Gillian Merron: The information available is set out as follows.
	
		
			  Average gross hourly pay for bus and coach drivers 
			   £ 
			 Yorkshire and Humberside other than South Yorkshire 6.42 
			 London 10.05 
			  Source: Office for National Statistics Labour Force Survey Autumn 2004

Consultants

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the companies which were paid consultancy fees by his Department in 2005-06; how much each was paid; and what each of the companies was used to accomplish.

Gillian Merron: Tables providing this information for the central Department and its Executive Agencies have been placed in the Libraries of the House.
	The central Department and its Agencies currently have separate accounting systems. This means that it has not been possible in all cases to provide the level of detail requested in relation to actual expenditure. The central Department and the DVLA have only been able to provide this information in relation to committed spend (i.e. orders raised and contracts awarded during the period in question). Figures are based on the latest revised OGC definition of consultancy.

Cycling Proficiency

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will take steps to encourage local authorities to ensure a cycling proficiency scheme is made available in all schools.

Derek Twigg: We are already doing so.
	With the help of over 20 road safety and cycling organisations including ROSPA, the CTC, local authorities and Cycling England, we have developed a new child cycle training standard to replace the old style cycle proficiency test.
	To support the new standard we have throughour advisory body Cycling England awarded over£1 million to increase the number of accredited trainers and training centres able to teach the new National Standard. Grants and bursaries are available for trainers and training centres to teach the new standards together with a national training helpline and consultancy service for local authorities.
	The Department for Transport encourages local authorities to apply for the grants and bursaries available and work with us to improve both the quality of cycle training our children receive and to make it more widely available in schools.

Damages

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport further to his answer of 10 January 2006,  Official Report, column 489W, on damages, if he will make a statement on the background to the incidents where no breach of confidentiality would occur.

Gillian Merron: Details of the damages claim where there is no breach of confidentiality would occur are listed as follows:
	
		
			   Date  £  
			 HA 16 November 2004 1,350,000 Personal injury Drainage flooding The claimant who suffered an accident and sustained injuries Personal injury Drainage flooding — A motorist suffered an accident on a trunk road caused by standing water Settled in line with legal advice 
			 MCA 29 July 2004 550,000 Damages for costs for fix vessel stability Details withheld due to confidentiality clause  
			 DSA 2 November 2004 392,000 Personal injury The individual trainee Personal injury. A trainee undergoing CBT (Compulsory Basic Training) had an accident that resulted in the individual suffering injuries leading to a paralysis A claim was made against the ATB (Approved Training Body) and DSA. 
			 HA 10 March 2005 250,000 Personal injury, falling tree The two claimants who suffered accidents and sustained injuries. Personal injury, falling tree—A tree brought down in a heavy storm fell onto a road hitting 2 cars. Settled in line with legal advice. 
			 MCA 1 April 2005 226,204 Damages to cover costs for vessel survey Details withheld due to confidentiality clause.  
			 HA 25 February 2005 140,000 Property Damage tree roots The owners of the properties concerned. Property Damage tree roots—HA trees caused subsidence in 2 nearby properties. Settled in line with legal advice. 
			 DVLA 31 March 2005 98,000 Early termination of contract (Planned Maintenance & Helpdesk) Maintenance Company Early termination of contract (Planned Maintenance & Helpdesk) Compensation for loss of income due to early curtailment of contract. 
			 MCA 10 May 2005 66,142 Damages for cover costs for vessel survey Details withheld on confidentiality  
			 DVLA 31 March 2005 65,000 Early termination of contract (Catering) Catering Company Early termination of contract (Catering) Compensation for loss of income due to early curtailment of contract. 
			 HA 15 November 2004 50,000 Fatality Drainage/ flooding The widow of the driver killed in the accident. Fatality Drainage/flooding - A motorist lost control after hitting a pool of water on a road and hit a tree. Settled in line with legal advice.

Departmental Staff

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what incentives his Department offers to encourage staff to share vehicles when travelling to work.

Gillian Merron: Car sharing is one of a number of measures called "Smarter Choices", which the Department and its Executive Agencies are promoting to encourage our staff and the wider population to travel more sustainably.
	Through the Local Transport Planning system and other initiatives, we encourage local authorities to set up authority-wide car share schemes and promote car sharing as part of site specific workplace travel plans.
	The Highways Agency are implementing workplace travel plans on the strategic road network and piloting the use of dedicated car share lanes.
	Initiatives aimed at staff include:
	car sharing only parking bays;
	promotion of car sharing for business travel;
	in-house training courses;
	car park management measures that combine intelligent traveller information with Co2 economy data,
	and, with both external and internal parties, examining the development of electronic car sharing tools.

Dredging

Julian Brazier: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport who pays the cost of dredging  (a) for a new port development and  (b) for existing ports.

Stephen Ladyman: The costs of dredging in ports are met by the harbour authority or terminal operator in the port concerned. In the case of new port developments, if a new authority is being established it will meet the costs of any dredging unless otherwise agreed with another harbour authority.

Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Ageny's's policy is on providing information to a court about a defendant.

Stephen Ladyman: Prior to a court hearing the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency will provide the court with information relating to any current driving endorsements. This is provided to the courts via an electronic printout of the driver record.

Equal Pay

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many  (a) women and  (b) men are employed in the Department; what the average pay was for (i) women and (ii) men in the Department in  (A) 1997 and  (B) 2006; what women's average pay is as a percentage of men's average pay; and how many (1) women and (2) men the Department employed in each of the last five years, broken down by grade.

Gillian Merron: The Department for Transport was formed in 2002 and consists of a central Department and seven Agencies.
	A table has been placed in the Libraries of the House listing the information requested for Department for Transport (Centre). Information with regards to Agencies can only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
	The Cabinet Office collects and publishes annually statistical information on the Civil Service by Department. These include data on the employment of men and women.
	Information on the numbers of women andmen employed in the Civil Service broken down at31 December 2005 is available in the Library and on the Civil Service website at:
	www.civilservice.gov.uk/management/statistics/employment/index.asp

European Maritime Safety Agency

Julian Brazier: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether he has seen a draft of the EU Commission White Paper entitled préparer la mobilité de demain; and what his policy is towards an expansion of powers to the European Maritime Safety Agency proposed therein.

Stephen Ladyman: The European Commission has yet to present this White Paper to the EU member states. The Government supported the establishment of EMSA and is content to see it develop its role where it can enhance the activities of member states to improve maritime safety without usurping the competence and responsibilities of the member states.

Illegal Taxi Drivers

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  how many illegal taxi drivers he estimates are operating in  (a) England,  (b) the North East and  (c) the Tees Valley;
	(2)  how many people have been  (a) prosecuted for and  (b) convicted of driving a taxi illegally in (i) England, (ii) the North East and (iii) the Tees Valley in each year since 1997.

Gillian Merron: The Department has made no estimate of the extent of unlicensed taxi operation either in England as a whole or in particular local areas. The degree of unlicensed operation is best assessed at the local level by local taxi licensing authorities, making use of their local knowledge, as part of their responsibilities for enforcement of the law within their area.
	However, relevant data on prosecutions and convictions is held by the Court Proceedings Database of the Office for Criminal Justice Reform. The following tables show the numbers of offenders prosecuted for, and found guilty of, offences under the Town Police Clauses Act 1847 (this is wider than just illegal plying for hire) and section 167 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994(1).
	(1) Taxis in England (outside London) must be licensed by the relevant local authority under the Town Police Clauses Act 1847. Individuals who attempt to provide a taxi service without being properly licensed normally do so by contravening section 45 of the 1847 Act by illegally plying for hire or section 167 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 by touting for business.
	
		
			  Number of persons proceeded against at magistrates courts and found guilty at all courts for offences related to illegal taxi services North East region and England, 1997-2004( 1) 
			   North East  England 
			   Proceeded against  Found guilty  Proceeded against  Found guilty 
			  Statute: Town Police Clauses Act 1847 SS.40-68 
			 1997 61 50 502 405 
			 1998 47 36 657 574 
			 1999 58 44 570 482 
			 2000 42 29 527 451 
			 2001 11 9 374 312 
			 2002 5 3 416 362 
			 2003 13 9 322 257 
			 2004 24 20 254 215 
		
	
	
		
			   North East  England 
			   Proceeded against  Found guilty  Proceeded against  Found guilty 
			  Offence: Touting for hire car service 
			  Statute: Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 S.167 
			 1997 — — 218 166 
			 1998 — — 214 159 
			 1999 — — 182 146 
			 2000 — — 156 127 
			 2001 — — 178 141 
			 2002 — — 229 182 
			 2003 — — 256 194 
			 2004 — — 483 311 
			 (1) These data are provided on the principal offence basis.  Note: Offence only applies outside London  Source: RDS—Office for Criminal Justice Reform 
		
	
	It has not been possible to break the data down in such a way as to identify the prosecutions and convictions just in the Tees Valley.

Level Crossings

Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many incidents on level crossings there were in each of the last three years; and how many incidents in each year resulted in a fatality.

Derek Twigg: This information can be found in the annual reports on railway safety published by HMRI which are available from the House Library. The Office of Rail Regulation plans to publish HMRI's annual report on rail safety for 2005 on 12 July 2006.

London Underground

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how long the trial of detector equipment at Canary Wharf underground station will last; and what further trials of detector equipment on the transport infrastructure are planned.

Derek Twigg: As the Secretary of State said inhis written statement to the House of Commons on16 May 2006, the passenger screening trial at Canary Wharf will last for about four weeks starting on17 May 2006. We plan to have the trial operational on 20 days throughout that period. A further passenger screening trial at Greenford station and work with detection dogs were also announced on 16 May 2006. These trials will start as soon as practicable after the end of the Canary Wharf trial, with the exact date yet to be fixed. The trial at Greenford, like that at Canary Wharf, is planned to last for 20 days spread over a four week period.

M25

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether he plans to re-surface the slip roads on the M25 motorway between junctions 28 and 31; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Ladyman: Resurfacing of the M25 junction 28 anticlockwise exit and entry slips roads is planned for mid-June 2006. The M25 junction 28 clockwise exit slip road will also be resurfaced later this financial year.
	There is no resurfacing of the other slip roads planned between junctions 29 and 31 as they are still in a safe and serviceable condition.

Milton Keynes South Midlands Growth Area

Peter Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what consideration  (a) his Department and  (b) Network Rail have given to improving the frequency of services and the infrastructure of the rail network from the Milton Keynes South Midlands growth area to and from the West Midlands region following the projected population increase in the growth area.

Derek Twigg: Part of the West Coast Main Line Modernisation Project, led by the Department of Transport, will include significant enhancements to the whole route, and in particular, will provide capacity increases at Milton Keynes and Rugby stations. Network Rail aims to finish the work by the end of 2008.
	Much work has already been carried out, including, for example, platform extensions, allowing 12 car trains to operate between Northampton, Milton Keynes and London.
	The Department for Transport is currently considering the future pattern of train services to be provided over the route, including the new West Midlands franchise, taking account of the impact of the growth area, and expects to consult publicly on its proposals during the course of this summer. The Department has published a progress report on the West Coast Main Line Strategy which sets out the latest position regarding the pattern of inter-city services on the route.

Milton Keynes South Midlands Growth Area

Peter Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make it his policy to establish Birmingham International Airport as the main long haul aviation hub for Milton Keynes; and what assessment he has made of the policy outcomes of such a development.

Gillian Merron: The Government's 'The Future of Air Transport' White Paper supported growth at Birmingham International Airport, identifying the need for a second runway around 2016. Birmingham Airport's recently published draft master plan also proposes an extension to the existing runway, by 2012, which will enable the airport to offer a full network of direct long-haul services.

Ministerial Travel

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport on how many occasions  (a) civil servants and  (b) special advisers in his Department have stayed overnight in (i) five-star, (ii) four-star and (iii) three-star hotels in each of the last three years.

Gillian Merron: The Department for Transport and its agencies do not record the star ratings of hotels used by staff or by special advisers. Minimum accommodation standards are set out in staff handbooks, and equate approximately to a three star rating. Any more detailed information could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

MOT Computer System

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many days have elapsed on average between the receipt of a letter to the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency requesting compensation and the payment of compensation to garage owners to compensate them for problems they have experienced with the new MOT computer system.

Stephen Ladyman: The average time between the receipt of a letter to the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency requesting compensation and the receipt of compensation by the claimant is 75 days. On average, 45 of these 75 days are spent clarifying and validating the claim.

MOT Computer System

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much money has been paid in compensation to garage owners to compensate them for problems they have experienced with the new MOT computer system.

Stephen Ladyman: In total, £7,095 has been paid to Vehicle Testing Stations as compensation for disruptions to service of the MOT computerisation system since rollout (18 April 2005) to date.

MOT Computer System

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many garage  (a) owners and  (b) managers have written to the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency requesting compensation for problems they have experienced with the new MOT computer system.

Stephen Ladyman: At the time of writing, The Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA) has received requests for compensation from 253 of 18,300 Vehicle Testing Stations for disruptions to service of the MOT computerisation system. 158 of these claims relate to the incident of 25 April when emergency testing was invoked.

MOT Computer System

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the expected expenditure of the MOT computerisation programme was  (a) from the inception of the project to the commencement of rollout and  (b) for annual maintenance costs.

Stephen Ladyman: For part  (a) of the question I refer the hon. Member to the answer of 16 June 2005,  Official Report, columns 532-33W.
	 (b) The annual maintenance costs of the MOT computerisation programme are £645,000 at 2006-07 levels.

Oystercard

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what progress is being made towards the introduction of the Oyster Card system to overland trains for commuters to London; and if he will make a statement.

Derek Twigg: Agreement has been reached with the Mayor of London to deliver compatibility between the Oyster Card system and the Integrated Transport Smartcard Organisation (ITSO) standard, in London. An element of this agreement will ensure that rail stations in London zones 1-6 currently without access to some Oyster products will be part of the completed system. Oyster will not be extended beyond the London boundary, but bidders for the new South Western rail franchise are being required to set out how an ITSO smart ticketing system could be introduced across its franchise area from London to the South Coast.

Private Members' Bills

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list those Private Members' Bills in respect of which his Department has adopted a policy of neutrality in each session since 2001-02; and if he will make a statement.

Gillian Merron: Since the Department for Transport was formed in May 2002 it has not adopted a neutral stance on any Private Member's Bill which received its second reading.

Private Office Staff

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what percentage of his private office staff is  (a) male,  (b) female and  (c) disabled.

Gillian Merron: In Department for Transport Private Offices (including the parliamentary and correspondence branches), the staff breakdown is 46 per cent. male, 54 per cent. female and 2 per cent. are disabled. The declaration of a disability is voluntary.

Private Sector Fund Recipients

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the 10 non-public sector entities that have received the largest total sum of payments from the Department in each of the last five years.

Gillian Merron: The information requested is tabled as follows:
	
		
			   Organisation 
			  2005-06  
			 Amey Mouchel Joint Venture HA 
			 IBM United Kingdom Ltd. DVLA 
			 Edmund Nuttall Ltd. HA 
			 Interroute HA 
			 Carillion Highway Maintenance Ltd. HA 
			 Atkins Ltd. HA 
			 Interserve Project Services Ltd. HA 
			 Balfour Beatty Civil Engineering Ltd. HA 
			 Alfred Mcalpine Capital Projects Ltd. HA 
			 Birse Civils Ltd. HA 
			 Connect M1-A1 Ltd. HA 
			   
			  2004-05  
			 Amey Mouchel Joint Venture HA 
			 IBM United Kingdom Ltd. DVLA 
			 Network Rail SRA 
			 Edmund Nuttall Ltd. HA 
			 Birse Civils Ltd. HA 
			 Atkins Ltd. HA 
			 Raynesway Const. Sthrn. Ltd. HA 
			 Carillion Highway Maintenance Ltd. HA 
			 Post Office Ltd. DVLA 
			 Balfour Beatty Civil Engineering Ltd. HA 
			   
			  2003-04  
			 Amey Mouchel Joint Venture HA 
			 IBM United Kingdom Ltd. DVLA 
			 Network Rail SRA 
			 Edmund Nuttall Ltd. HA 
			 Carillion Highway Maintenance Ltd. HA 
			 Costain Ltd. HA 
			 Raynesway Const. Sthrn. Ltd. HA 
			 Post Office Ltd. DVLA 
			 Birse Civils Ltd. HA 
			 Yorkshire Link Ltd. HA 
			   
			  2002-03  
			 Carillion Highway Maintenance Ltd HA 
			 Edmund Nuttall Ltd. HA 
			 Post Office Ltd. DVLA 
			 IBM United Kingdom Ltd. DVLA 
			 Costain Ltd. HA 
			 Balfour Beatty Civil Engineering Ltd. HA 
			 Amey Mouchel Joint Venture HA 
			 Yorkshire Link Ltd. HA 
			 Alfred Mcalpine Capital Projects Ltd. HA 
			 Network Rail SRA 
			   
			  2001-02  
			 KPMG SRA 
			 John Sisk & Son Ltd. VOSA 
			 Eds VOSA 
			 Linklaters SRA 
			 Atoc SRA 
			 Babtie SRA 
			 Lazards SRA 
			 Railtrack SRA 
			 Ove Arup SRA 
			 Nichols Group SRA

Public Consultations

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many public consultations his Department undertook in 2005; and what the cost was  (a) in total and  (b) of each consultation.

Gillian Merron: The Department published 36 consultations during the calendar year 2005. The Department also regularly consults key stakeholders on a less formal basis through meetings or seminars,to help inform policy development. Information onthe cost of each consultation and the total cost ofall consultations could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	Consultations are made available on our web site: http://www.dft.gov.uk.

Public Transport

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he is taking to encourage bus and train operators to recruit more women into the transport sector.

Gillian Merron: The Department for Transport facilitates the Women's Transport Network (WTN) to provide a forum for women to contribute to policy development in the transport field and to encourage women to enter and progress in the transport industries. However the recruitment of staff is a commercial matter for individual bus operators and train operating companies to manage.

Railways

Roberta Blackman-Woods: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has to facilitate the re-opening of the Leamside Line in Durham for  (a) passenger and  (b) freight use.

Derek Twigg: There are no plans by the Department for Transport to facilitate the re-opening of the Leamside Line in Durham for passenger and freight use. It would be for the local authority working in partnership with Network Rail, to develop a suitable business case which demonstrates value for money.

Railways

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps his Department is taking to ensure the re-opening of the Bletchley-Bicester section of the East-West rail link; and if he will make a statement.

Derek Twigg: The Government provided funding, through the Growth Areas Fund, for the recent "East-West Links Study", which looked at the overall need for improved east-west transport links in the Milton Keynes-South Midlands growth area. The Government welcomed the publication of the study report by the "East-West" consortium of local authorities on 11 April.
	The Government are now providing funding support to the Consortium for further work to establish the costs, benefits and opportunities for funding the scheme. Among the questions being addressed by this work are the scope to fund the scheme from land developer contributions, and whether Milton Keynes Central station could and should be served by "east-west" services. The Consortium expect to complete this further work later this year.

Railways

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many Sunday rail services have been cancelled in each of the last five years, broken down by train operator; and if he will make a statement.

Derek Twigg: The information requested is not available in the format requested and would incur disproportionate costs in resources to obtain. Information is however available for 2005 at an aggregate level for all days in the week as follows:
	
		
			  Train operating company  Percentage of total trains planned 
			 Arriva Trains Wales 1.11 
			 Central Trains 1.89 
			 Chiltern 1.42 
			 C2C 0.97 
			 First Great Western 1.03 
			 First Great Western Link 0.97 
			 Gatwick Express 1.08 
			 GNER 1.52 
			 Island Line 0.28 
			 Mersey rail 1.48 
			 Midland Main Line 1.18 
			 Northern 0.71 
			 one 1.26 
			 Silverlink 1.66 
			 South Eastern Trains 1.31 
			 Southern 1.14 
			 South Western Trains 1.02 
			 Thameslink 2.22 
			 Trans Pennine Express 1.14 
			 Virgin Cross Country 0.97 
			 Virgin West Coast 1.40 
			 WAGN 1.05 
			 Wessex 1.04 
			  Source: Network Rail (Data for the period 9 January 2005 to 8 January 2006 inclusive)

Railways

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the average cost was of constructing a mile of  (a) railway line and  (b) light rail line in each year since 1997.

Derek Twigg: This information is as follows:
	 (a) The only significant heavy railway line constructed in England and Wales since 1997 is the channel tunnel rail link and details of the costs can be seen on the Department's website at:
	http://www.dft.gov.uk/stellent/groups/dft_railways/documents/page/dft_railways_035482.hcsp
	 (b) Light rail—costs per mile vary from scheme to scheme. The National Audit Office report "Improving public transport in England through light rail" published in April 2004, listed the construction costs per kilometre for schemes and a copy is in the House Libraries.

Resilience Exercises

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the resilience exercises carried out on  (a) the transport infrastructure and  (b) Eurotunnel since 11 September 2001.

Derek Twigg: Transport resilience exercises are regularly carried out across the transport infrastructure by transport operators and by agencies of government or in combination. Details are not held centrally by the Department. The value of multi-level exercises was shown clearly on 7 July 2005 and on other occasions when an emergency response has been required.
	Since 11 September 2001, 22 emergency response exercises have been held involving Eurotunnel. These have been run variously in conjunction with Kent police, other relevant authorities, and the UK and French Government.

Road Pricing

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the percentage increase in motoring costs required to provide an effective disincentive to motorists to drive on congested roads.

Stephen Ladyman: The Feasibility Study of Road Pricing in the UK, which reported to the Secretary of State in July 2004 (a copy of the study is available in the Library of the House), considered a number of different scenarios for a national road pricing scheme. The study presents estimates of the potential reduction in congestion arising from a number of illustrative 'revenue neutral' and 'marginal social cost' pricing scenarios. The analysis completed for the study suggested that a 'revenue neutral' scenario of national road pricing, could lead to an overall reduction in congestion of 41 per cent. on all roads and a 48 per cent. reduction on urban roads.

Roads

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the latest cost estimates are for  (a) road schemes in the Targeted Programme of Improvements,  (b) road schemes approved under the local transport plans and  (c) road schemes approved under the Community Infrastructure Fund.

Stephen Ladyman: I have arranged for three tables to be placed in the House Library. The tables provide information on latest cost estimates for  (a) schemes in the Targeted Programme of Improvements,  (b) local major road schemes, costing over £5 million, that have been approved for funding through the local transport plan programme and  (c) road schemes approved under the Community Infrastructure Fund. Funding allocated for road schemes under the Community Infrastructure Fund are for fixed amounts and are time-limited to 2006-07 and 2007-08.

Rolls-Royce Engines

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the compliance with  (a) health and  (b) safety standards of the nickel super alloy content of the Rolls-Royce(i) RB211-535C and (ii) E4 engines.

Gillian Merron: The Civil Aviation Authority assessed the engine designs and the manufacturer's production processes against the relevant airworthiness safety standards applicable to them at the time applications for safety approvals were made.
	The Rolls Royce RB211-535 and E4 series engine designs and the manufacturer's engine production processes were assessed against safety standards established in British Civil Airworthiness Requirements documents. These were superseded first by European-wide Joint Aviation Authorities Airworthiness Requirement documents and subsequently by Commission Regulation (EC)1702/2003, one of the implementing rules made under Regulation (EC) 1592/2002 which set up the European Aviation Safety Agency.

Ryanair

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what action is being taken by his Department to ensure that Ryanair complies with all the existing applicable rules when it operates from airports within the UK; and what meetings officials have held with Ryanair to discuss these matters.

Gillian Merron: If information is received which suggests that a foreign airline has committed a significant breach of UK legislation this will be followed up with both the airline and its regulatory authority and could result in prosecution or the refusal of permission to operate to the UK.
	The Department is not aware of any ongoing issues of non-compliance by Ryanair with UK legislation governing aviation safety. Therefore no specific action has been taken and no specific meetings have been held with Ryanair.

South East Manchester Multi-modal Study

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment his Department has made of the implementation of the South East Manchester Multi-Modal Study objectives by the constituent local authorities and partner organisations; and if he will make a statement.

Gillian Merron: Following the response to the South East Manchester Multi-Modal Study in March 2002, an Implementation Group was set up, chaired by the Government Office for the North West. The objectives of the Group include the co-ordination of the delivery and development programmes for the multi-modal strategy, as well as to monitor and review progress.
	Many of the objectives of SEMMMS are progressed through the authorities Local Transport Plan. An assessment of Final (Second) Local Transport Plans is currently being undertaken by the Department and Government Office for the North West. The monitoring of LTP integrated transport objectives and targets, as agreed by local authorities, are carried out through Annual Progress and Delivery Reports.
	Ministers are currently considering the scheme appraisal for the SEMMMS Relief Road and advice from the North West region on the priority it attaches to the conventional funding element of this and other schemes in the North West. Ministers plan to make an announcement in due course.

Southampton Tunnel

Julian Brazier: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what progress has been made in upgrading the Southampton tunnel to take larger containers; what the cost of the project has been to date; and what the estimated final cost will be.

Derek Twigg: Over the next few months Network Rail will be undertaking work to refine cost estimates and develop designs to gauge clear Southampton tunnel.
	Any work to upgrade the tunnel is part of a wider project to allow the efficient passage of trains carrying large, 9'6" containers from Southampton to the West Coast Main Line. The overall cost of the core scheme from Southampton to the West Coast Main Line is estimated at circa £57 million.

Staff Surveys

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many staff surveys have been conducted in his Department in each of the last three years.

Gillian Merron: The Department has carried out the following staff surveys in each of the last three years.
	
		
			   1 April to 31 March 
			   2003-04  2004-05  2005-06 
			 DfT(C) 1 0 1 
			 HA 1 0 1 
			 DVLA 1 1 1 
			 DSA 0 1 0 
			 VGA 1 0 1 
			 VOSA 0 0 0 
			 GCDA — — 0 
			 MCA 1 0 0 
			 Total 5 2 4

Staff Team Building

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the total cost was of  (a) staff away-days and  (b) staff team-building exercises in his Department in each of the last three years.

Gillian Merron: The information requested is not collected centrally in the form requested and could be provided only at disproportionate costs.

Terrorist Threats

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many terrorist threats there have been on average per month on  (a) the Channel Tunnel and  (b) Merseyrail since 11 September 2001.

Derek Twigg: Due to security considerations it would not be appropriate to comment on threats to specific elements of national transport infrastructure.
	If and where threats to transport infrastructure arise, the Department for Transport has security procedures in place and works closely with partner organisations to respond appropriately.

Terrorist Threats

Douglas Carswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans the Government have to increase security against terrorist attacks on UK airlines.

Gillian Merron: The security measures in place, both for aviation in the UK and for UK airlines overseas, are kept under constant review and are adjusted as and when necessary, including in the light of any change in threat assessments.

Transport Improvements (Hackney, North and Stoke Newington)

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what transport improvements for which his Department is responsible there have been in Hackney, North and Stoke Newington constituency in the past 12 months; what further improvements are planned; and if he will make a statement.

Gillian Merron: The Department provides Transport for London with a block grant, which doubled over the last five years, to £2,181 million 2005-06. The Mayor is responsible for providing a Transport Strategy for London while the boroughs are required to provide Local Implementation Plans which set out how they will contribute to the Mayor's strategy.
	In addition, the Department funds improvements to rail services in London. This investment includes the current preparatory rail bridge building work for the East London Line Extension to Dalston. The project will provide three new stations for North Hackney and Stoke Newington. Further investment is planned for improvements to the North London Line (NLL) which have been confirmed by the Mayor when he takes control of the line in 2007.
	These include new, higher capacity, accessible trains replacing the existing fleet and a £25 million station enhancement programme of NLL stations. The funding of further rail enhancements across the country will be considered as part of the development of the High Level Output Specification for the railway to be published in Summer 2007.

Transport Infrastructure Projects

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions he has had with the Institution of Civil Engineers on improvements to the management of transport infrastructure projects; and when such discussions took place.

Gillian Merron: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Transport has had no discussions with the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) on improvements to the management of transport infrastructure projects.
	Officials are aware of ICE work in the transportation sector, and from time to time contribute to this work both a regional and national level.